Year of the Tiger

Chinese / Lunar New Year is tomorrow! I celebrated with my friends by going out for Peking Duck at Ji Rong in San Gabriel Valley. This dish from Beijing is characterized by its crispy, thin skin, served with spring onion, cucumber, and plum sauce, wrapped in a warm, soft, thin pancake like a tortilla. It was so delish and such a special treat! Peking duck is a specialized dish and is not often found at most Chinese restaurants. Ji Rong had been on my list for years and I was so happy I finally got to try it for New Years.

When I was younger and used to live in Boston, Chinese New Year was such a fun celebration with my family, cousins, and uncles. So much food was made. We prayed to our ancesters. The adults gave us red envelopes with money. I miss celebrating with my family. It has been so long. If it weren’t for the rise of Omicron Covid cases, I would have flown home. I don’t think I have ever gotten to celebrate Chinese New Year with my family as an adult?

As I mentioned in a few posts back, the holidays were depressing and isolating because I was sick and everyone seemed to have Omicron. I think a lot of people’s plans were ruined. So for the month of January, I committed myself to going out every weekend to get myself out of my sweatpants and out of my house. I pretty much stuck to the plan and I’m exhausted! Lol. It’s tiring being out every weekend socializing. And expensive. I think I’ve gotten so used to being a homebody that I’ve forgotten how much things cost and the energy required to be on the constant go. It has been a good distraction though and I’ve gotten to wear new clothes that had been sitting unused in my closet. It does feel nice to get dressed and put on makeup and feel pretty. But I also felt a little bit guilty. The past few months prior, I had gotten accustomed to working nonstop and all weekend—on my consulting, my food blog, my brand partnerships, and my cookbook—that it felt strange taking weekends off to have fun. It didn’t feel productive and I was so used to feeling productive.

I’m still learning how to give myself grace and to not be so hard on myself. I think a part of me feels like I don’t deserve a break yet because I haven’t achieved certain goals. But I need to give myself credit for the things I did achieve and I need to allow myself to celebrate those small wins. I also need to learn how to pivot. If certain goals aren’t working out for me, maybe I need to shift my focus onto something else. Mix things up until something sticks. I think part of the reason I felt guilty for having fun this month is because I felt a little bit lost in life in terms of what I wanted to work towards next. How can I have fun if I don’t know what I want? Do I need to know what I want all the time though? Do I always need to know the next step? I could sit on my couch, in my comfy sweatpants, and dwell on my existential crisis all day, but answers don’t just come to you because you’re waiting for them. You have to keep on moving, moving forward and sometimes around in circles, and eventually it will find you. But not on the couch. Answers don’t come to you on the couch, unfortunately. At least not in my experience.

I think I finally found it though. The answers I was looking for. Or at least pieces of it. And it would not have come to me without going out, interacting and socializing with people, and having random conversations that inspire ideas. I guess the fun was productive. The ideas would not have come to me sitting at home trying to will the answers into existence in my brain. Anyway, I know I’m being cryptic because I don’t necessarily want to spell out my personal goals publicly, but I’m sure you understand what I’m trying to say and can relate.

Happy Lunar New Year my friends! Year of the Tiger. Another chance to reset. And I think I’m feeling much more prepared and ready for it this time around than on Jan 1st. Thank goodness.

The Perfect Pumpkin Tart

Typically, pie is not my favorite dessert with the exception of pumpkin pie. A pumpkin tart is even better because it has the perfect ratio of filling and crust. Most pumpkin pies or tarts tend to be a little too sweet for me. Because it’s the holiday season, I thought I’d try making it myself. And it was so easy and so good! I was actually impressed with myself. Lol. It’s probably one of the best pumpkin tarts I’ve had in my humble opinion :) Give it a shot and let me know what you think!

THE PERFECT PUMPKIN TART

INGREDIENTS:

CRUST

·       1 cracker sleeve of graham crackers (9 cracker sheets)

·       6 tbsp butter

·       1 tbsp sugar

·       Pinch of salt

FILLING

·       1 can of pumpkin puree (I prefer Libby’s)

·       ½ cup + 1 tbsp brown sugar

·       3 eggs

·       ½ cup heavy cream

·       1 tsp vanilla extract

·       Pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt butter on stove.

Crush graham crackers in a food processor until it looks like sand. Pour into a bowl. Mix with melted butter, sugar, and salt. It will then look a little like wet sand. Add crust mixture into a nonstick removable bottom 9-inch tart pan placed on a baking sheet. Spread mixture evenly along the pan. Using the bottom of a measuring cup, flatten the crust. Set aside.

Mix the ingredients for the filling. Stir evenly. Pour over the crust in the tart pan. With the tart pan on top of the baking sheet, place in oven. Bake for 45-50 minutes at 350 degrees.

Allow to cool completely before serving. Serve with whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

Pan-Seared Steak with Mushrooms & Asparagus

Sponsored by Aspen Ridge® Natural Angus Beef

I love a good steak and I especially love making it myself because it is super easy to do. It makes me feel kind of fancy and it looks really impressive too. I have partnered with Aspen Ridge® Natural Angus Beef to show you how to make a beautiful steak dinner at home. Their beef is Certified Humane®, has no added hormones, and no antibiotics ever. Because of its high quality, USDA Prime beef is generally sold in hotels and restaurants, but Aspen Ridge Prime beef is now available at your local Pavilions in Southern California!

I prefer a NY Strip cut and I like to cook my steak in a cast iron skillet to create a nice outside crust. It takes less than 10 minutes to cook the perfect steak at home! This is so much easier, more satisfying, and less expensive than dining out. Using Aspen Ridge Beef, you can create a delicious meal for that perfect date night in, special occasion, or celebration. In my case, it was a nice little weekend treat all for myself. My neighbor happened to walk past my door as I was cooking, and he immediately texted me to ask what I was making because he could smell my steak from outside and he thought it smelled so good! Even though I appreciated the compliment, I didn’t share my steak with him. I ate it entirely by myself! It was so delicious!

I paired my steak with a couple easy side vegetable dishes—sauteed garlic butter mushrooms and grilled asparagus. They cook quickly and complement the steak. If you have another vegetable you prefer or enjoy your steak with crispy roasted potatoes instead, that’s fine too. Pair your steak with whatever your belly craves.

Pan-Seared Steak with Garlic Butter Mushrooms & Asparagus (serves 2)

Steak Ingredients:

• 1 lb. of Aspen Ridge® Natural Angus Beef NY Strip, about 1¼ inch thick

• 2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed

• 2 sprigs of fresh Rosemary

• 2 tbsp butter

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil

• salt

• pepper

Garlic Butter Mushrooms:

• 12 oz of mixed mushrooms (I use a combo of crimini + shiitake), stems removed and thinly sliced

• 2 cloves of garlic, diced

• 2 tbsp parsley, chopped

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• ·¼ tsp ground black pepper

• ¼ - ½ Tsp sea salt

• 1 tbsp butter

• 2-3 lemon wedges

Asparagus Ingredients:

• ½ lb of skinny asparagus spears, bottom stems trimmed

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• salt

Directions:

Place NY strip on a plate. Pat dry. Season generously with salt and pepper. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. You may not need to finish the steak in the oven if your cut is no thicker than 1¼ inch and/or if you prefer your steak on the medium to medium-rare side. I like to have the oven on just in case the steak is thicker than I expected, or if the outside of the steak has already developed a perfectly brown crust but the inside is still not cooked to my desired temperature. Finishing the steak in the oven allows the steak to continue cooking without burning the outside.

Heat up a cast iron skillet over medium high heat with vegetable oil for about 5 minutes or until it starts smoking.

Place the steak gently on the hot skillet. Sear the steak for about 3-4 minutes on the first side, creating a deep brown crust.

Using tongs, flip the steak over and cook the other side for another 3 minutes. Add butter, garlic, and Rosemary to the skillet. Cook for another minute, tilting your skillet back and forth, so that the seasoned oil and butter fully coat the bottom of the steak. Turn steak onto its sides and sear all the edges as well. Flip the steak over a couple times. Repeatedly spoon the sauce over the top of the steak as it cooks.

Transfer steak to a cutting board and let it rest for 5 minutes, loosely covered with aluminum foil, before cutting into it. This stove-top cooking method should yield a medium-rare to medium cooked steak.

However, if your steak has already developed a dark brown crust on the outside but the inside is still too rare for your taste, you can transfer the entire skillet to the oven and cook for about 5 minutes more. This is to avoid burning the outside of the steak on the stovetop while continuing to cook the inside. After 5 minutes, remove the steak from the oven. Transfer to a cutting board, cover loosely with aluminum foil, and let it rest for about 5 minutes before cutting into it.

Meanwhile, in the same hot skillet, heat up 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat for a couple minutes. Add trimmed asparagus spears. Sprinkle with salt and cook for about 2-3 minutes, flipping over halfway through. Set aside.

Heat olive oil in a separate pan over medium high heat. Add mushrooms. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Lightly cook for a minute. Drain excess liquid. Add butter and garlic. Cook for another minute. Toss in parsley. Turn off stove. When ready to serve, add freshly squeezed lemon juice and drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil.

Plate sliced steak with asparagus. Spoon over sauteed garlic butter mushrooms on top of the steak or serve on the side.

Note: According to foodsafety.gov, the minimum safe temperature is 145°F for steaks.