Marsala Chicken Pasta

Marsala Chicken Pasta

• 1 serving of Penne pasta
  
• 1/4 onion
  
• 5 baby bella mushrooms, quartered
  
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• ~5 oz chicken breasts
  
• 1/2 tbsp tapioca or corn starch (as thickener)
• 3/4 cup Marsala wine, dry
• 1/4 cup water
  
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• ~A dash of balsamic vinegar
• optional: grated Parmesan to top
• basil & oregano, salt+pepper for seasoning
• some SUGARR! :)

1. Cook penne al dente.
   
2. Oil pan and sauté garlic, onion, and mushrooms until soft. Set aside.
   
3. Chop chicken into bite-sized pieces and cook on medium heat. Set aside.
   
4. On medium heat add wine, vinegar, and broth and let it come to a boil. Let wine/broth reduce for about 2-3 minutes. Dissolve starch into water. Turn to medium-high and add (water+starch). It should be nice and thick when it starts to bubble.
   
5. Immediately reduce heat to low and toss with chicken and sauted mushrroms+onion. Garnish with Parmesan and parsley. Serve.
   

** Note: Have tried the beef variation with beef broth and ground beef. Very flavorfullll.

Fu Yu Ong Choi, Mabo Tofu, Mushu Pork

The previous post was a belated one. A result of me... procrastinating for the duration of the week. Here's another episode of ... what does Jenny eat?

Fu Yu Ong Choi (Water Spinach with Fermented Bean Curd)

Top: Mabo Tofu
Bottom: Mushu Pork

I want to make a little comment about the Mushu pork though. I didn't have Mok Yee (Black Wood Fungus) so I tried substituting in mushrooms. A little weird but close enough?? (As in they're both fungus) I'll post up the recipe for this one:

Mushu Pork

• 1/2 head of cabbage
  
• 2 oz Pork, thinly sliced
• Black wood fungus (mok yi)
  
• 2 eggs
• Ginger root
  
  
• Oyster Sauce
  
• Soy Sauce
  
• Lao Chau (Mushroom Soy Sauce)
• Brown sugar
• Sesame oil
  
• Tapioca Starch (just a little for a slightly thicker sauce)

Some brief instructions?
Make sauce. Just use your imagination as to how much of each to add. Overall sauce should not exceed 1/4 cup.
Scramble the egg first. Fry the pork. Set aside. Cook fungus according to directions. Oil the wok and brown the ginger a little. Then throw the cabbage into the wok with the sauce and cook. When it's almost done, put everything in and give it a good toss before serving. Based off of my memory of my dad's mushu pork. :)

Simply the Best Cheesecake

Cheesecake was definitely one of the hardest things for me to get right. I've made so, so many cheesecakes in the past, none of which I was completely satisfied with. Back then I over-mixed the batter, which made the batter watery and gross. After that I could never figure out how long to really bake the cake. It just never seemed to set properly. When the cake did set, the top would always crack and it would look like the earth opened up and swallowed it.

But this time was better. I baked the cake in a water bath and let the residual heat set the rest of the cake. I was glad that it turned out so perfectly. I baked this for Tim's 20th birthday so I didn't bother too much with getting a good picture. Take my word for it though-- it's delicious. The real picture is at the bottom.

The Best Cheesecake

• 15 crushed graham crackers
• 3 tbsp butter, melted
  
  
• 4 (8 oz) packages of cream cheese, slightly softened
  
• 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup milk
• 4 eggs
  
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
  
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flor

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) with a pan of water. Grease a 9 inch springform pan.
   
2. Combine crushed graham crackers and butter. Press onto bottom of pan.
   
3. Cream together sugar and cream cheese.
4. Add milk, vanilla, incorporate slowly. Then add sour cream and eggs. Lastly add in flour.
5. Use aluminum foil to wrap the bottom of the pan and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes in the water bath. Without opening the oven, turn it off and let the cake continue to bake in there for 3-4 hours. Remember to let the cake cool before refrigerating or freezing.