Last Night's Dinner

Making dinner for others much more fun than making it for yourself. Last night, I decided to make my co-worker's infamous lentil Soup & Jamie Oliver's pan cooked chicken. They both turned out great (look and taste-wise).

Though I have to add, if you're making dinner for your Asian parents with tastebuds that only long for any type of Asian food, they probably won't care for lentil soup (my mom wasn't a fan). However, it's also a recipe loved by my department (a combo of health nuts & fancy eaters).

Try it! Both recipes are very simple and the chicken is so good it's my 2nd time making it (my sister also made it for the 2nd time this night for her guests).

Pan Cooked Chicken with Aspargus, Pancetta & Olives

Jamie Oliver - FoodNetwork.com

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 15 min

Level: Easy

Yield: 1 serving

Ingredients:

• In Italy they use olives instead of salt, as they give a gentle seasoning, perfume and meatiness to dishes.
• 1 chicken breast supreme, skin removed
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Olive oil
• 3 slices smoked pancetta
• 8 medium-sized spears asparagus, woody ends trimmed off
• 8 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 5 kalamata olives, stones left in
• Handful basil leavesSmall knob unsalted butter
• Splash white wine

Directions:

Slice the chicken into 3 finger size pieces, but ensure that you keep it as 1 piece (fan it out). This will help to cook the chicken much faster. Season with salt and pepper. Heat a medium-sized frying pan, add some oil, and brown the chicken on all sides.

Place the pancetta on top of the chicken and the asparagus around it, let it char a little, then put the pancetta on the bottom of the pan to crisp up and turn the chicken over. Turn up the heat, throw in the tomatoes, olives, basil, and a good knob of butter. Take off the heat once the butter has melted and add a splash of wine to make a sauce, squishing in a few of the tomatoes to finish it off.

Side Dish: You can use anything, but I paired it with brown rice for a healthier alternative.

................................................................................

Lentil Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion
• 2 carrots
• 1 cup green lentils
• 1/2 head of cauliflower (or broccoli), cut into small florets
• 1-2 cups of chopped bell peppers
• 1 quart chicken (or veggie) stock
• 1/2 cup chopped dill or parsley

1. Saute chopped onion & carrots in evoo & salt in stock pot
2. Rinse lentils in warm water
3. When sauteed veggies are soft, pour in lentils, 1/2 of the stock & 2 cups of water
4. Simmer on low until the lentils are soft (about 30 minutes), adding water as needed
5. Add remaining stock & veggies and cook until soft (about 15 minutes)
6. Add herbs and season to taste
7. Puree with hand mixer until smooth
8. Serve with a dollop of sour cream

Yields: several bowls - probably enough for a few people or a few days, for two!

Enjoy!

Adios Florida!

I ended my Florida trip the same way I started, in Fort Laud. We ate at La Carretta (Versailles sister restaurant) and since Craig still wasn't feeling well, I decided to venture off alone and enjoy my last night taking in the beauty of the beach once again.

Having a quiet moment on the beach (at 7pm without a sweater) is seriously one of life's greatest pleasures.

Lincoln

Lincoln, another popular street here, is filled with high (and low) end shops, restaurants and bars. This street reminded me of the Promenade in Santa Monica. After walking down the busy street, we decided to walk into Zeke's Roadhouse for a beer. After reading the sign, "Zeke's Roadhouse 450 Beers from Around the World $4," we couldn't help but walk in. Probably the cheapest drinks we had all week (aside from Ladies Night at Porterhouse).




Once our beers were done and the people-watching became old we headed over to Sushi Samba for an amazing dinner. We shared calamari and spicy tuna rolls. He had the sashimi dinner and I had the short rib yakisoba. My meal was so tasty and the meat was extremely tender.

Unfortunately, the next morning Craig woke up with food poisoning :(

the great SoBe outdoors...

Craig and I spent very little time indoors in SoBe. We were excited to find that our hotel rents bikes out to guests and what better way to experience the area in its entirety than on 2 wheels.

We biked down Ocean, through Collins and parked our bikes outside Puerto Sagua where we enjoyed a Cuban lunch of Palmilla steak & Ropa Vieja. This place was recommended by many and I have to agree - it's great Cuban food, great prices and is in close proximity to all the main attractions.

After biking in the humidity for 2 hours, it was time for the beach where we spent the next few hours lounging under a life-saving umbrella and taking several dips in the water.

Bienvenidos A Miami!

South Beach seems worlds away from Fort Lauderdale. Known to locals as SoBe, this part of Miami is filled with travelers from all over the world, a unique party scene, authentic Cuban food, crystal clear beaches and sidewalk cafes lined further than you can walk.

Every hotel has a party and every party in Miami lasts til the break of dawn (practically). There are ALWAYS people walking around at all times of the day/night. There is one issue I have with this city, the drinks are so expensive! Our first night here, we walked up to the bar, ordered 3 drinks and bam! There goes $48! We shortly caught on and made sure to stock up our hotel room with pre-party supplies.

Beach Bums

Before heading out to South Beach, we enjoyed the less crowded Fort Lauderdale Beach once again. I guess I just wanted to enjoy the peace & quiet before moving on to the infamous party town.

Downtown Fort Lauderdale Nights

You know you're going to have a great night when the first bar you walk into has no cover charge. This was the case at the Porterhouse, but in addition to no cover it was "Ladies Night" which means, free drinks for the ladies.

You can literally get a free drink from Porterhouse, walk out the door with it and onto the next place. This is what we did. Grabbed a drink and walked to Automatic Slims (no cover charge!).
Hmm... this being my 3rd post about Florida, I almost feel like all I've done so far is drink! Well, I guess that's the MIA/FLL vibe for ya - or maybe it's just 'cause I'm on vacation.

Upon entering this club, I was flabbergasted - all of the women had perfect bodies! Granted, they all worked there as bartenders or dancers, but still! This place has two floors and it surprised me that they played such a great selection of music - a combination of mainstream radio tracks & oldschool east/westcoast tracks.

Overall, my first downtown FLL experience was a memorable one.

P.S. There are so many international travelers in Florida! Of course, I managed to make a few overseas friends again - I love my international folks.

Fort Lauderdale Days

Fort Lauderdale is totally underrated. Not many US cities can you walk from bar to bar with a drink in hand. Even at 3am, it's perfectly legal. This place has beautiful beaches, crowded parties where everyone is friendly and minding their own, great food and who doesn't love a place where you can go to the beach (and actually take a dip) any day of the year? Of course, not when there's a hurricane stirring. You get the point...

The Elbo Room is in the center of Fort Lauderdale beach. With bright colors, doors wide open and a prime location, it's almost impossible to not walk into this place for a drink. If you're lucky enough, maybe you'll even run into the "MILF hunter" (as seen in the shades).


Another great place to stop at along this street is Sangria Cafe. This place along with the rest of the sidewalk cafes in this location offer happy hour specials like 2 for 1 margaritas. I opted for a Caiparinha which was very refreshing in the hot humid sun.

If the menu here doesn't suit your palate, there are a wealth of options neighboring Sangria Cafe.

Destination: Florida

Upon our late night arrival into the Fort Lauderdale Airport, we rent a car and we're on our way. Prior to our departure we made sure to check the weather report only to find that it would be hot, humid and we'd likely experience isolated thunderstorms.

At first, I was bewildered at the thought of isolated thunderstorms. Soon enough, we figured it out. Right when we drive out of the airport lot, thunderstorms equipped with rain showers. We thought, "Wow, this sucks - what a horrible time to be on vacation here!" A few miles later, we're introduced to clear, precipitation & thunder-free skies. That must have been an isolated thunderstorm!

Layover in Houston

When you have more than an hour long layover, always relax between flights with a drink & snack. It's fun to be in an unfamiliar airport.

Here we are at Lefty's Lone Star Grill. I decided to try the ShockTop (a beer I was unfamiliar with) and ended up enjoying it. Very similar to a Blue Moon (though I prefer Blue Moon).

We're so ready for Florida!

SF has me falling in love over & over

Summer Fridays are days that I look forward to. I'm referring to "Summer Fridays" at work. Each Friday throughout the Summer, we can leave work at 1pm (if we feel like we've gotten enough work done) just so we can get an early start on our weekend. It's a great deal to work extra hard during the week and enjoy the weekend a few hours earlier.

On this particular Summer Friday, I decided to walk around and enjoy the heat. If you've been to SF and know where the Powell St. cable car stop is, you've seen the infamous tap dancing man who taps to whatever beat is playing on his boombox. It was a delightful surprise to find him tapping to the sound of a random band that decided to collaborate with him that day.

I fall in love with SF over and over because this city has so much culture and there are surprises left and right.

[video coming soon]