Happy father’s day to all of the wonderful dads out there!  Today was a little rough for me.  I can’t believe it has already been five months since my dad passed away.  I miss him so much everyday – sometimes it seems like he was making Jav and I margaritas and ribs just yesterday.  He was the best dad in the whole wide world and I still feel so lucky to have had him as a dad even our time together was cut short. 

I thought I would pay tribute to my dad today by posting his favorite barbequed salmon recipe.  For the longest time, this is the ONLY way I would eat any seafood.  I would always ask for extra sauce and loved it because it tastes just like candy.  My dad always said that he got the recipe from an old Native American friend who cooked it on the reservation – I am not sure how true that is, but the recipe is fantastic. The ingredients might seem a little strange, but I promise it is great! 

Salmon Buying Tip (my humble opinion):

For this recipe I used Atlantic salmon from Costco, only because it was convenient.  However, I would have preferred to use Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon – Skin-on.  Why skin-on you might be asking?  Because it is much better for the grill and I think it has better flavor.  You will notice I don’t have grill marks in the photos.  It is because I used a skinless fillet and that makes it not conducive to turning skin side down on the grill.  The skin will hold the meat together.  Also, please do not fall into the trap of buying $25-30/lb Copper River Salmon.  The Copper River just has great marketing, not necessarily the best fish.  My favorite brand of frozen fish is Orca Bay – I am a little biased because I did used to work for them, but they process great fish!  I personally prefer to buy frozen salmon unless I know it just came off the boat.  The freezing process is incredible now and locks in freshness that is hard to beat.  Plus a lot of the fish labeled fresh at the seafood counter in the grocery store is actually just thawed out.  You never know how long it has been sitting there.  Sorry for the rant.  More questions? Just ask.

Hope you enjoy the recipe as much as I do! Love you dad!!

My Dad’s Barbequed Salmon

Printable recipe here

1 Large Fillet of Salmon

½ Cup Brown Sugar

Juice of two lemons

2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

2 Cloves Garlic minced

Couple of good shakes of Lawry’s seasoning salt

¼ Cup Olive Oil

Whisk all ingredients together until well blended. 

Pour ¾ of mixture over salmon in a large dish.

 Reserve the rest of the sauce. Marinate for 30 minutes.  Preheat grill.  If you aren’t using skin-on salmon then lay your fish on a sheet of double-thick aluminum foil. 

Cook salmon for 3-5 minutes per side (if you can’t flip it then 6-10 minutes total). If you use skin-on then cook directly on the grill without the foil. Baste fish with remaining sauce. 

 Don’t overcook the salmon.  It should be flakey and juicy. 

Enjoy!

Love,

Lindzee

You can probably tell by how much of it I post on this blog, but I absolutely love Mexican food.  I am starting to think I should rename the blog Pink Burrito.  Yes, I said burrito and not taco .  Jav loves Mexican food too, which make it easy to please him with my cooking.  I don’t think he ever met a taco that he didn’t like.

It is also fairly easy to prepare and simple to make healthy and low-calorie with a few substitutions.  The key to this recipe is making your own salsa.  I personally am not a big fan of any jarred salsa since it is so easy to make.  But, if you really feel like you want a shortcut, then go ahead and purchase a salsa verde to substitute for the green chile tomatillo salsa in the recipe. However, please don’t tell me about it.  It will make me sad.

The sweetness of the pork contrasts well with the sharpness of the cheese and salsa in this recipe.  To make it healthier than your average enchi,  I used low-fat cheese and purchased a package of low-fat pork sirloins from Costco.  It is a very lean cut of meat with only about 100 calories per 4oz serving.  Plus it is yummers when cooked in the slow cooker!  I would recommend putting the pork in the slow cooker in the morning and letting it cook for 6 hours or up to 10 on low if you need to leave the house.  It will do its magic while you are away!

Sweet Pork Enchiladas with Roasted Green Chile Tomatillo Salsa

Pork

2lb Pork Sirloin Roast

1 Cup Roasted Green Chile and Tomatillo Salsa (Recipe below)

2 Cups Orange Juice

½ Cup Brown Sugar

1 Tablespoon Cumin

1 Tablespoon Chipotle Chile Powder or regular Chile Powder

Put all ingredients in the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-10 hours.  Once cooked, remove from cooker.  It will just fall apart like this if cooked enough.

Shred with two forks.

For extra sweetness and flavor, add the shredded pork back in the slow cooker and cook in the juices for about 20 more minutes on low.  Drain juices and set aside.

Enchiladas

12 Corn Tortillas

1 Can Fat Free Vegetarian Refried Beans

1 Cup 2% Shredded Mexican Cheese (I used Kraft)

Shredded Pork (Recipe above)

Roasted Green Chile and Tomatillo Salsa

Preheat oven to 400.

Cover bottom of casserole dish with a thin layer of green chile salsa. 

Place one tortilla in dish and rub bottom in the salsa. 

 Spoon 1-2 Tablespoons of the refried beans onto the tortilla.  Place 1 oz of shredded pork on top of beans.

  Roll up.  Repeat process until all tortillas are used. 

Cover all of the enchiladas with remaining salsa (or less) depending on preference.  Sprinkle with cheese. 

 Bake for 20 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Roasted Green Chile and Tomatillo Salsa

2 Pasillo Peppers (These are mild)

10-12 Medium Tomatillos peeled

1 Jalapeno seeded and deveined

½ White Onion cut into chunks

1 Clove Garlic

Couple of Handfuls of Cilantro

Juice of ½ Lime

1 Teaspoon Salt

Roast peppers and tomatillos on the BBQ over medium heat.

 I only roast the tomatillos for about 5 minutes turning halfway through.  They should look like this when done.

I roast the peppers for 8-10 minutes until the skin turns completely black. 

 Remove from heat and let cool.  Rub and Peel off the charred skin.  It should come off fairly easily. 

 Cut off stems and remove seeds.

Add peppers, tomatillos, onion, garlic, cilantro, lime and salt to the blender. 

Blend until smooth. 

If you want it more chunky then do this in a food processor and pulse into rough chunks.  I like mine smooth.  Keep tortilla chips nearby for tasting. 

 It might need more salt…add more if necessary after tasting.   Chill in fridge to let flavors marry.

Enjoy!

Love,

Lindzee

Gooood Evening!!  It has been entirely too long since my last post.  Unfortunately, a person who shall go unnamed dropped my camera on the hardwood floor and smashed my cute little lens to smithereens. I had to hold back the tears when it happened. RIP little guy.  I shall always remember you.  Fortunately, I received my new lens in the mail just the other day.  So here I am, back at da food blogging.

I have been waiting for this day to come for years.  I am dead serious.  I have been trying to make a healthier version of Chinese restaurant style orange chicken for many moons. I am in love with Chinese food, especially the dishes with deep-fat fried breaded pieces smothered in sugary sauces (yes, I know this is Americanized Chinese food for you food snobs who will undoubtedly leave a nasty comment correcting me).  Regrettably, I know from experience that if you eat this type of thing every night you will gain weight.  So, I have tried and tried to come up with a recipe that is sort of lightened up and tastes like the real thing. The sauce is the key to making this dish work. No store-bought sauce will do.  I even tried the new Panda Express Orange sauce from Costco.   Ladies and Gentlemen, I am here to tell you after countless attempts, I think I am finally satisfied.!While it might not be super healthy, it is healthIER than the restaurant versions.  I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did!

Chinese Orange Chicken Lightened-Up

Chicken

1 lb Skinless Boneless Chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces

4 Tablespoons Flour

Salt and Pepper

1 Tablespoon Vegetable or Canola Oil

Optional:

Steamed Broccoli

Whole Wheat Noodles

Add flour, salt and pepper to a medium ziplock bag.

  Add chicken and toss until all chicken pieces are evenly coated.

  Heat oil over medium high heat in a large skillet. 

 Add chicken pieces and cook for 3 minutes until browned on one side and then turn over and cook another 3 minutes until cooked through. 

 Turn heat down to very low and add enough sauce to fit your tastes. 

I serve mine over broccoli and whole wheat spaghetti. 

Orange Sauce

(Depending on your tastes, this probably makes way more sauce than you will need for this recipe)

1/3 Cup Orange Juice

½ Cup Rice Wine Vinegar (Must be rice wine and not regular white vinegar)

½ Cup White Sugar

2.5 Tablespoons Soy Sauce

1 Tablespoon Orange or Lemon Zest (I use lemon)

½ Tablespoon Toasted Sesame Oil

2 Teaspoons Corn Starch

1 Tablespoon Red Pepper flakes (more or less depending on your preference for heat)

Mix corn starch into orange juice until lumps are gone.  Add orange juice mixture and rest of the ingredients together in a small sauce pan over medium heat. 

 Bring to a boil and cook until sauce thickens and coats the back of a spoon – about five minutes. 

 If it doesn’t get thick, then add a little more cornstarch mixed in water. Set aside.

Thanks to my friends over at Spark Recipes I was able to calculate the calories in each serving (this is using all the sauce).  Pretty good compared to the typical 400 calories and 20 grams of fat in the same serving size at a restaurant.

Holy yum!

Love,

Lindzee

Hola Friends!  I love spaghetti with meat sauce.  Always have.   I make mine with brown sugar so it is a little bit sweet and uses a base of Prego.  Prego is one of the cheapest spaghetti sauces out there and I love it (with a few additions). On a side note, I am not sure why I do this and it is totally dorky, but I always say “She is prego-ragu”, if someone is pregnant.  Weird, but true.

 Anyways,  I used to think my recipe was the best – until I tried this one at our good family friends, Debbi and Steve’s house.  Debbi is a wonderful cook - not to mention a great singer, dancer and hula hooper .  She is the appetizer queen (I am hoping she will send me some of those recipes soon)!  Her and Steve very graciously organized my dad’s memorial reception and hosted an after party at their house…where they served this amazing chicken and Italian sausage pasta sauce.  Which is actually a recipe of Debbi’s friend Leslie.  As soon as I ate the first bit, I asked for the recipe.  I only made a few changes, which is really strange for me.  It is fantastic and super simple to make for a crowd.  I served mine with ravioli, but you could use your favorite pasta.  Caesar salad recipe will be posted next. 

 Italian Sausage and Chicken Pasta Sauce

Printable recipe here

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 Tablespoon butter

1 White onion chopped

10 Large mushrooms sliced

3 Garlic Cloves minced

5 Links of uncooked (spicy or mild)Turkey Italian sausage cut into ½ inch pieces

4 Skinless Boneless Chicken breasts cubed (sausage and chicken is easier to cut if it is a little bit frozen

16 oz can diced tomatoes

1 Quart Prego Spaghetti sauce

1 T. Italian Seasoning

¼  cup dried basil

¼ cup dried oregano

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

6-8 servings of your favorite pasta

In a large stockpot, saute onion and mushroom in the olive oil and butter until soft and onions are translucent.  Add garlic and sauté one minute more. 

Add the chicken and sausage pieces and cook over med- low heat until the meat is browned and cooked through.

  Add the tomatoes, sauce, seasonings, brown sugar and vinegar. 

Stir well.  Simmer over low heat for at least 20 minutes up to an hour stirring occasionally.  You shouldn’t need to season with salt because the sausage has quite a bit of salt already.

Use over cheese ravioli or your favorite pasta.  Sprinkle with parmesan and enjoy.

Love,

Lindzee

 

Jav’s 28^thbirthday was yesterday and we had a few friends over to celebrate.  He keeps thinking he is 29 and not 28, which makes me laugh since I am 29.  I keep trying to convince him that he is actually 29 – it seems to be working.  Since his favorite possession in the whole wide world (with the exception of his MacBook Pro) is his IPhone, I thought I would try and make an IPhone cake.  Well, I tried:

He was really happy when he saw it!  And here are his many faces from the night:

Other pics from the night.

Mavie and Katie had a great time too:

Too much fun:

Disclaimer: I don’t really give my dog alcohol.  Only chocolate. He likes chocolate. 

When Jav was in high school he worked a local restaurant called Smoky Mountain Pizza.  He is obsessed with their Teriyaki Chicken Fettuccine and asked me to make it for him for his birthday.  After a few test runs, I think I finally succeeded.  It was pretty darn good.

Happy 29^thJav!! The first of many to come .

On a side note – here is a link on how to pound meat from Chef Doughty at Boise State Radio.  It had me in hysterics.  http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/idaho/local-idaho-885382.mp3

Creamy Teriyaki Chicken Fettuccine
Printable recipe here

 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
2lbs Chicken Breast Cut into bite size pieces (cutting semi-frozen is easiest)
2-3 Cups Assorted Fresh Veggies Chopped (I used broccoli, zucchini, mushrooms and sugar snap peas)
6-7 Servings Cooked Fettuccini

Sauce
3 Tablespoons Butter
3 Tablespoons Flour
2 Cloves Garlic Minced
2 Cups Half and Half (I bet it would work with 2% milk, but don’t hold me to it.  If you try it let me know)
1 Cup Freshly Grated Parmesan
1 Cup Soy Vay Veri VeriTeriyaki Sauce (Must be this brand. Mmm. So good.)

Heat olive oil in a medium skillet and cook chicken breast pieces until browned and cooked through.  Add veggies and ¼ cup of water and cook 5 minutes more on medium. Set aside.

In a medium stockpot melt butter with garlic over medium heat. 

Add flour and whisk constantly for two minutes, but do not let the flour brown.  Like you would a roux for an alfredo sauce. 

Slowly whisk in milk and bring slowly to a boil while stirring constantly. 

This mixture will thicken up after about 5 minutes of cooking.  Once thick, slowly whisk in parmesan and teriyaki sauce. 

 Let cook for two minutes more while stirring and pour over cooked chicken and veggies in the skillet. (this was a test run and I used different veggies).

 Set heat to low and stir until warmed through.  No need to season, there should be plenty of salt from the sauce. Serve over fettuccini.

Enjoy!

Love,

Lindzee

Howdy! We celebrated a special occasion last night – Jav decided to quit his job and start his own business Arerra Interactive! Today was his first day being his own boss. I am so proud of him and know he will be extremely successful in his new venture.  However, if it doesn’t work out he might have a successful career in modeling.

To commemorate the occasion, I made some beef and potatoes. Jav is mostly a fan of french fries and burgers (Jack in the Box, McDonalds, Burger King) and likes to spend his day of Sabbath partaking in a tradition called “Gluttony Sunday” where he generally visits all three of these fast food joints before noon.

However, this Sunday, I decided to make a stuffed flank steak with roasted fingerling potatoes. Aren’t fingerling potatoes the cutest? They are so good too!

Their flavor is just a tad sweet and creamy. This is a very simple meal that makes it look like you spent a lot of time slaving away in the kitchen.

 Stuffed Flank Steak

 1.5-2lbs of Flank Steak

 Marinade

 ¼ Cup Soy Sauce
2 Cloves Garlic Chopped
4 Green Onions Chopped
½ Cup Brown Sugar
¼ Cup Rice Wine Vinegar
4 Tablespoons Honey
½ Cup Pineapple Juice
Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
¼ Cup Olive Oil

Pound meat with meat pounder covered with plastic wrap until ¼ inch thick. Watch out for splatters!

Blend marinade all ingredients in the blender.

Pour over flank steak in ziplock bag. Marinate in fridge for 2-4 hours.

Filling

6 Strips of Good Quality Bacon
2 Cups Fresh Spinach
2 Cloves Garlic
 3/4 Cup Parmesan Shredded
1 Tablespoon Red Wine Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook bacon until partially cooked but not crisp.

Drain off grease and set bacon aside.

 In food processor, pulse together spinach, garlic, parmesan, vinegar, oil, salt and pepper until mixture resembles a pesto.

Remove steak from fridge and spread spinach mixture over the steak.

 

Add bacon pieces not overlapping on top of spinach mixture.

Roll together tightly.

Use toothpicks or skewers to hold together ever two inches.

 Slice into two inch rolls.

Grill over medium heat for 10-15 minutes until done.

This is for medium depending on your grill hotness. If you use a meat therm, I like it to read 135 degrees when I take them off the grill.

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

5 Cloves Garlic
¼ Cup Olive Oil
3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
1 Tablespoon Chopped Rosemary
Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Crush garlic – Remember this old thing, the garlic crusher? I love this tool.

 Mix garlic, oil, lemon juice, rosemary and salt and pepper together in small bowl.

 Pour mixture over potatoes in a roasting pan.

Make sure potatoes are evenly covered. Roast for 20-25 minutes until brown and yummy.
Serve hot.

Enjoy!

Love,

Lindzee

Hi all! It has been awhile since my last post, because things have been a bit frenzied for me. My dad lost his 18 month battle with cancer on January 15th. He was a wonderful dad and teacher who always had an incredible zest for life. He never gave up his fight against cancer and was the most positive person I have ever met. Even though I only spent 29 years with him, I consider myself the luckiest girl in world to have had him as a father. I will miss him so much.

Here I am with him:

Both of my brothers (Travis and Ryan) came home last week along with CJ (Sister-in-Law) and Cooper (Travis’s son). The service and reception was wonderful and unbelievably special. I am positive my dad was there lighting up the room. The day after the service we all went back to my mom’s house and had a Shrimp Taco night while helping my mom clean out some of the closets and fix some stuff around the house.

Here is Travis trying on his old letterman’s jacket:

The boys also tried their luck with my mom’s hula hoop:

Cooper pretended to like the tacos.

Not sure why he has a carrot in his hand?

Trav and CJ made some guacamole:

I have made these tacos for years. It is a copycat recipe of the Anthony’s restaurant in Seattle fish tacos. I use shrimp, but you can substitute with Mahi Mahi, Cod, Halibut or any other whitefish. With the exception of Tilapia. Tilapia is disgusting. See my about me page.

 Grilled Shrimp Tacos

2 lbs Shrimp Peeled and Deveined
8-10 Taco Sized Flour Tortillas
Shredded Lettuce

Marinade

1.5 Cups White Wine
½ Cup Lime Juice
1/2 Cup Olive Oil
3 Cloves Garlic Minced
3 Tablespoons Chopped Herbs (basil, oregano, whatever you wish)
1 Teaspoon Salt Pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together and marinate shrimp for 1 hour.

 Do not marinate longer or you will have ceviche. :) The lime juice will cook your little shrimpies. Prepare sauces below while shrimp is marinating. Grill shrimp over low-medium for 5 minutes or until pink.

 Grill each tortilla for 1-2 minutes. Assemble taco by adding shrimp, Pico de Gallo, shredded lettuce, guacamole and Pico de Gallo mayo sauce.

 Add some cheese if you are feeling frisky. 

Pico de Gallo Mayo Sauce

1 Cup Pico de Gallo (Recipe Below)
3/4 Cup Mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon Lime Juice
Salt and Pepper to taste

Blend all ingredients together in a blender until smooth.

Guacamole

½ Cup Pico de Gallo (Recipe Below)
2 Whole Avocados Peeled and seeded
1 Garlic clove minced
3 Tablespoons lime juice
Tabasco to taste
Lots of salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients by smashing with a fork.

Season to taste

Pico de Gallo

6 Large Tomatoes Chopped
1.5 Red Onion Chopped
3-4 Jalapeños seeded, veined and minced
3/4 Cup Cilantro Chopped
2 Garlic cloves minced
¼ Cup Lime Juice
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together.

Enjoy!

Love, Lindzee

Sunday night, Katie and I had some friends over for din din – Michelle and Regan.  Aren’t they cute?

And Jav and Katie were there too…

After assessing my current food stock, I had some frozen shrimp, cheap vodka, leftover wine, cheese and pasta. Typical. 

 I decided to try a little experiment and make some shrimp stuffed pasta shells with tomato basil vodka sauce.  I love creamy basil vodka tomato goodness and paired with shrimp made it that much better.  They turned out really well!

Shrimp Stuffed Shells with Tomato Basil Vodka Sauce

Filling:

1 Box uncooked large pasta shells

2 Pounds of raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails removed

1 Shallot chopped

1 Garlic cloves chopped

1 Tablespoon olive oil

½ Cup Dry White Wine

Salt and Pepper

1.5 Cups Ricotta Cheese Part Skim

1 Tablespoon chopped basil

¼ Cup Shredded Parmesan

Boil pasta shells in salted water until partly tender but still a little firm.  About 7-8 minutes.  Drain and immediately separate shells to a greased baking sheet to prevent sticking together.  Set aside to cool.

Chop shrimp into bite size pieces. 

 Sauté shallot and garlic cloves in the olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. 

 Add wine and shrimp. Cook until pink.  Don’t overcook though.

 Drain remaining liquid and combine shrimp, ricotta, basil, parmesan and salt and pepper. 

Set aside.  Make the sauce.

 Vodka Sauce:                              

1 Tablespoon butter

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 Shallot chopped

2 Garlic cloves chopped

½ Cup Vodka (you can use the cheap here. No Grey Goose allowed)

16 oz Whole peeled tomatoes in juice (blended up in blender)

½ Cup Heavy Whipping Cream

4 Tablespoons basil chopped

Salt and Pepper to taste

¼ Shredded Parmesan

Preheat over to 350 degrees.

Melt butter and olive oil over medium heat in a medium sauté pan.

Add shallots and garlic and cook about 2 minutes.  Add vodka and cook 1 minute more.

Then add tomatoes and cook for about 10 minutes.  Add whipping cream and basil and cook for 1 minute more.  Season to taste.

Cover the bottom of a large baking dish with a thin layer of sauce. 

Stuff each shell with about 2 Teaspoons of shrimp filling until full.  Stack in baking dish in a single layer and cover with remaining sauce and sprinkle with parmesan.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until warm and bubbly.  Sprinkle with any remaining basil.

Love,

Lindzee

Happy 2010!!  Jav and I had a lot of fun ringing in 2010 at the Micky and the Motorcars concert.  Maybe too much fun… this morning was a tad rough.  We felt like it was the perfect day to watch football and make a big pot of chili.  Here is Jav enjoying the chili.

Not just any chili.  Our family friend Peggy makes the greatest chili ever!  It is sweet and acidic and absolutely wonderful.  Since, we have been indulging a smidgen too much this holiday season (see all previous posts from December), I thought I would adapt it to be a bit healthier by using ground turkey instead of beef.  This will most likely be unlike most chili’s you have had, but it always seems to be a crowd pleaser and I just love it!  We were too hungry to wait for the slow cooker, but this recipe certainly works in the slow cooker.   

I made my cheddar jalapeno cornbread muffins to accompany the chili. You can find the recipe here.

Sweet Turkey Chili

2 Pounds ground turkey

1 Green Pepper chopped

1 White onion chopped

2 Celery stalks chopped

2 Cloves garlic chopped

1 ¼ Cup Ketchup 

28oz Canned tomato juice

4 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 Teaspoon salt (more to taste)

3 Teaspoons chili powder

½ Teaspoon oregano

3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 Teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 ½ Teaspoon White Vinegar

3 Teaspoons yellow mustard

2 Bay leaves

1 30oz  Can Chili Beans in Sauce

1 ½ Teaspoon Tabasco

Avocado (garnish)

Plain Yogurt (garnish)

Cheddar Cheese (garnish)

Brown turkey, pepper, onion, celery and garlic in a large saucepan on medium.


 Breakup turkey into small pieces.  Add all other ingredients into saucepan.  Simmer for 1 hour on medium low. 

Serve garnished with avocado, yogurt and cheese.  I like to crumble the cornbread muffins on top.

I hope 2010 is your best year yet!!  Adios 2009 – don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

Love,

Lindzee

Dave   -  I used to work with Dave at SMG .  He is one of the most hilarious, creative  people I have ever met.   He likes to write and sing songs about man boobs.

Neva -  Neva is Dave’s pretty girlfriend.  She is an amazing person who always seems genuinely interested in what you have to say.  I love people like that. 

Dave lived in Korea and has been raving nonstop about a Korean dish called Bibimbap (Korean pronunciation: [pibimpap]).  The word literally means “mixed rice.” Being that we live in Boise, ID, there are not too many Korean restaurants and Dave insisted that it is the best hangover food ever.  Please feel free to correct me if I am wrong about the Korean restaurants in Boise. 

Dave sold me a camera lens and I was a jerk and didn’t write the check for enough $.  He told me not to rewrite the check, but I would need to repay him with Bibimbap.  I agreed to take on the challenge. 

This is the description of Bibimbap from Wikipedia: “Bibimbap is served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with namul (sautéed and seasoned vegetables) and gochujang (chili pepper paste). A raw or fried egg and sliced meat (usually beef) are common additions. The ingredients are stirred together thoroughly just before eating.^[2] It can be served either cold or hot. 

After a little bit of research, I decided on a recipe from a Bobby Flay episode. The recipe was written by his friend Jenn Lee.  Which you can find here.

The reviews looked good and the recipe seemed simple enough.  The one ingredient not commonly found at the grocery store is Gochuchang.  This is a spicy paste made from red peppers and bunch of other ingredients.  Don’t even try to make Bibimbap without this.  It is essential and amazing!  Who is that dashing young man holding the Gochuchang?

Neva was able to find the Gochuchang at the Orient Market on Emerald St. in Boise.  She looked up a picture of it on the internet first because she was too embarrassed to ask for it at the market.  I thought that was cute.  She also picked up another Korean condiment – Black Bean Paste.  I thought this stuff was kind of weird tasting. 

So anyways, I started out the night before by marinating the steak cut into thin strips.  I used flank steak instead of ribeye.  Everyone felt the steak was the best part.  The marinade was incredibly good and in the future I will use it to marinade everyday steak.  The best part is that it uses 7-up!

Then about an hour before we wanted to eat, I put the rice in the rice cooker

I grilled the meat about 7-8 minutes on low. 

Then sautéed the spinach, carrots and Shiitake mushrooms in some sesame oil and salt. 

Then I fried some eggs (over easy) and made the Gochuchang paste.  When mixed up, the yolk from the eggs coats the other ingredients and makes it soooooooo good!!

Here is the finished bowl all stacked up. 

 I left the Gochuchang paste on the side for people to add their own since it is super spicy.  We had a large mixing bowl at the table where everyone mixed up their own dish and preferred level of Gochuchang. 

I would HIGHLY recommend this recipe.  It was really simple with great flavor.  Dave even said it tasted authentic!  I blushed.

I also made some Oi Moochim (seasoned marinated cucumbers) from the same episode.  You can find the recipe here.   Equally as good! 

Dave brought PLENTY of Miller Lite tall boys to accompany the meal.  Not to mention the 3 bottles of wine we drank.  It was a night filled with lively conversation and debauchery.

Thanks Dave for introducing me to some fabulous cuisine!  I will definitely be making this often.

Love,

Lindzee