Boba Milk Tea

I used to have a major addiction to boba milk teas. I would stop by Sam Woo every single day before class. As with any of my addictions, they seem to slowly disappear. I recently rediscovered this yummy drink and I've been drinking it almost every single day since.

Boba is really easy to make at home. The first thing you need is tea (or another beverage base). Most boba shops use powdered drink mixes from companies like lollicup. I like the taste of the milk tea powder but you can use one of the other flavored powders or even brew your favorite tea. You can get your boba supplies from here or here.



The second thing you need is the boba balls. The boba balls below are the most awesomest. They are 5-minute boba balls. Regular boba takes about 30 minutes to cook. These cook in five. I've been cooking them in small batches. I like my boba fresh. Fresh boba is slighly chewy and elastic. Boba balls are also available in a delicate green tea flavor but many shops stick with the dark brown ones.

The last thing you need is a big fat straw. This is very essential to suck up the boba balls while drinking the tea.

You can enjoy your boba either hot or iced. I had it iced a few days ago. I am having it warm today since it is a snow day and I see three-foot snow drifts outside my window.

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Vietnamese Chicken Curry (Ga Ca Ri)

I made this before leaving for California. I typed up a recipe but can't find it on my computer. I was a little distracted. I received bad news around 1:00 PM on Thursday afternoon and then spent the rest of the day trying to figure out how to get everything ready so that I could leave for California. When I got home, I was a little numb. I had boneless chicken thighs defrosted in the refrigerator for the Vietnamese Chicken Curry.

As I was cooking, I was making plans on when and how to get to California. I told the bf what to expect. I said I was leaving for California as soon as I can get everything ironed out. I even planed out his meals for the next week.

As I was going through my pictures folder, I realize I did not post this before leaving last week. I had to rewrite the recipe since I can't locate it. I probably saved it under an ambiguous name in my music folder.

I remember an ex-friend's mom used to make this curry. It was very soupy and she served it with fresh baked french baguettes from the Vietnamese grocery store. One Thanksgiving she made it with turkey. She also used pearl onions. The pearl onions made the curry really pretty but I don't think it makes a huge difference in taste.

Below is my version of this curry.

2 tablespoons canola oil
2 pounds boneless skinless thighs
1 tablespoons curry powder (many people recommend D&D Gold Product brand with three bells on the label. I used the Sing Kung brand Ca Ri Ni An Do Madras Curry powder)
4 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 onion, diced (or pearl onions)
4 potatoes, peeled and cubed
I can coconut milk
Water to cover
salt
black pepper
MSG
1 teaspoon sugar
½ stalk lemongrass , cut into 2 inch pieces
1 bay leaf
2 carrots, cut into 1 inch slices

1. Heat a large dutch oven, add oil. When oil is hot, add chicken and cook until browned. Add curry powder and allow to toast for a minute. Add garlic and onions. Cook until onions are soft. Add potatoes and cook another minute.
2. Deglaze pot with coconut milk. Add water to cover. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the carrots. Bring to a boil and lower heat to a simmer.
3. When potatoes are cooked, add carrots and cook until carrots are slightly tender.

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Vietnamese Vermicelli Noodle Bowl (Bun Dac Biet)

I'm finally back in town. Actually I've been back since Saturday night but I am still in an emotional rut. If I don't think about it too much, I'm okay but once I start to think about it...well I get really sad. Life is just not fair sometimes.

Everyone at work thought I took a week long vacation. It wasn't exactly what I would call a vacation. I flew back to San Diego to attend my dear cousin's funeral. She was way too young but I guess I am comforted by the fact that she is no longer suffering. It was a tough week for everyone.

Tonight I decided to make Vietnamese vermicelli noodle bowl aka bun (pronounced boon). I marinated some boneless skinless thighs and shrimp last night. Today I grilled the chicken and shrimp, reheated the frozen egg rolls, made the sauce, cut up the veggies and boiled the rice vermicelli.

- Grilled Lemongrass Chicken (Use same recipe for the chicken found in this post for com ga nuong sa recipe here)
- Grilled Shrimp (marinate shrimp with the chicken and then grill)
- Egg rolls (I had frozen fried egg rolls. They are really handy. I just reheat them in the oven and they crisp up nicely.)
- Vermicelli noodles, boiled

Garnish:
Lettuce
Bean sprouts
Green onions, sliced (I also like to grill them when I use a grill pan or George Foreman)
Cilantro, sliced
Carrots, julienned
Mint leaves
Peanuts, chopped
Fried shallots, onions or garlic

Nuoc Cham (recipe here)

Assemble everything in a large pho bowl. (The bowls are from my mom. I brought back two dozen pho bowls when I drove to California.)

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Coleslaw

I'm posting a recipe for coleslaw that I made last week. I won't be posting for at least the next week. I'm on my way to California for the funeral of a loved one whose life was cut way too short.

½ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup milk
¼ cup buttermilk
juice of 1 lemon juice
1 ½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper
½ head cabbage, finely sliced
1 carrot, shredded
2 tablespoons onion, minced

1. Mix together mayo, milk, buttermilk, lemon juice, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper.
2. Add cabbage, carrots and onions and toss. Cover and refrigerate at least three hours.

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Nikon Customer Service Sucks

I am the ultimate consumer and referrer. If a have good experience with a company, I will rave about it to all my friends and I will insist that they need one too. In these tough economic times, I would like to believe that companies are really focusing on their customer service. I still believe that a product is only as good as the company behind it.

Below are companies with great customer service:

- Kitchenaid: I blogged about the company when I had trouble with my brand new Pro 600 mixer. I called them. The customer service person asked me a few questions and according to my answers, she determined that I had a defective mixer. She sent a new one out right away. A few days later, I got a brand new mixer. I put my old mixer into the box, affixed a FedEx label that they provided and shipped it back to them. Now that is awesome customer service!

- Williams-Sonoma: I bought a Le Creuset pot online and when I opened the box, it was a little scratched up. I called my local store in Cherry Creek and I talked to Chris. He was really nice. He put a new one aside for me and when I walked in, he handed me my new pot and I gave him my old one. Awesome customer service!

- Corningware: You know that company that makes the french white casserole dishes? Well I bought a 15-piece set on clearance and I knew that some of the lids were damaged. I went on their website looking for replacement lids. They didn't sell them. I emailed customer service to inquire about purchasing replacement lids. One day I open my front door and the UPS guy left me a box from World Kitchen, LLC. I was confused because I usually get all my purchases delivered to work. I opened the box and inside were replacement lids for my Corningware. Awesome customer service!

- Nordstrom: All I can say is, "I love Nordstrom."

So now let's talk about an example of bad customer service.

I bought a new Nikon over the weekend. I finally decided to suck it up and get one. One of the lens came out of the box defective. The autofocus was not working. We did some troubleshooting and even tried the exact same lens on the camera and that lens worked. So we determined the lens was defective. I called the store that I bought it from an they said they would gladly do an exchange but when they checked their inventory, they were out and were not planning on buying any more of this special limited time offer kit. I asked if they could switch out the lens since they still carry the same lens. They couldn't. They assured me that I could get a full refund.

I wanted to keep my camera because I already customized many of the settings and I was attached. I called Nikon for a resolution. I assumed they would send me a replacement lens and have me ship back the defective lens. They can fix it up and sell it as a refurbished product. Nope. They said I will have to send my lens back (postage paid by me) and they will do an evaluation. They do not guarantee that they will replace (and it is unlikely they will replace). The manager encouraged me to go return the camera and get a refund because if I send my lens in, they will likely send me an estimate of the repair cost. I was like, "you will charge me to fix an item that was defective right out of the box!?!?!? And I cannot believe you are encouraging me to return a pretty expensive product. And if I do return it, I am so scarred by my experience with your company that I will buy a camera from their competitor."

I just recommended a Nikon to a friend. She wants a DSLR to take pictures of the new babe. I told her about my experience. Let's just say she will not be buying a Nikon. I also told another friend. She has never dealt with Nikon customer service but she assumed their customer service would be just as good if not better than Canon's customer service. She had an issue with her Canon when she first purchased it. Canon replaced it. She will not be buying a Nikon as a backup camera.

I cannot support a company that will not do everything to make it right for the customer. The manager even accused me of trying to trick them with an counterfeit lens. WTF?!! I have a receipt. I have the box and documentation with serial numbers on the docs, box and heck even on the camera and lenses. I think they even embroidered a serial number on the darn Nikon carrying case.

I'm so frustrated. The camera is going back tonight.

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Marshall Field’s Famous Chicken Potpie

The Cook’s Illustrated Simple Chicken Pot Pie recipe is very similar to the Marshall Field’s recipe. Cook’s Illustrated simplified it by using chicken breasts instead of a whole chicken and frozen puff pastry instead of homemade piecrust.

I made something in between. I didn’t want to use puff pastry so I made the piecrust. I did change the crust a bit. The original recipe calls for shortening. Unfortunately I do not cook with shortening and didn’t want to buy shortening just for this recipe. I’ve made piecrusts with butter, shortening, lard and any combination of the three. I decided to go the all butter route. I had lard in the refrigerator but it was supermarket lard and it had an off taste. I read the package and it reads, “partially hydrogenated lard.” Although the last pie crust was perfectly tender and flaky, the off flavor of the lard combined with the butter was not right. The all-butter crust was really good. It was tender, flaky and the flavor was amazing. I love butter.

The next change I made to the recipe was the use of bone-in chicken breasts instead of a whole fryer. I have about 5 whole fryers in the freezer but I prefer my chicken pot pies made with white meat. I also prefer the chicken diced; not shredded.

I also added par-boiled diced red potatoes because potpies have to include potatoes. The other substitutes were minor. I didn’t have sherry in the house but had a few other fortified wines. I used Madeira wine.

Marshall Field’s Famous Chicken Potpie

(Created by Mrs. Herring)

Pie Dough
1 ½ cups flour
½ tsp. salt
½ cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced
¼ cup vegetable shortening (Crisco), chilled
3-4 tbsp. ice water

Chicken
3 bone-in chicken breast halves or 1 (3 ½ lb.) frying chicken
1 carrot
1 celery stalk
1 small onion, halved
2 tsp. salt

Filling
6 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 large onion, diced (about 1 ¼ cups)
3 carrots, thinly sliced on the diagonal
3 celery stalks, thinly sliced on the diagonal
½ cup flour
1 ½ cups milk
1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme leaves
¼ cup Madeira wine ¼ cup sherry
5 red potatoes, peeled, diced and par-boiled
¾ cup frozen green peas, thawed
2 tbsp. fresh minced parsley
2 tsp. salt
½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 egg whisked with 1 tbsp. water

To prepare pie dough:
Combine flour, salt and butter in the bowl of a food processor and pulse 5 times to combine. Add the shortening and pulse a few more times, until the dough resembles coarse cornmeal.

Transfer to a bowl and sprinkle with 3 tbsp. ice water. Stir and then press together with a wooden spoon until the dough sticks together. A little at a time, add more water if the dough won’t come together.

Shape the dough into a ball and then flatten into a disk. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days before rolling.

To cook chicken

Combine chicken, carrot, celery, onion and salt in a large stockpot. Add cold water just to cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Decrease the heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate and allow to cool.

Increase the heat to high and boil for 20 minutes to concentrate the broth. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve and discard the vegetables. Reserve broth.

When cool enough to handle, dice pull the chicken meat from the bones and shred into bite-size pieces.

To finish and bake
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place a large saucepan over medium heat and add butter. When the butter is melted, add the onion, carrots and celery and cook, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes, until the onion is soft and translucent.

Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the milk and 2 ½ cups of reserved chicken broth. Decrease the heat to low and simmer, stirring often, for 10 minutes.

Add the chicken meat, thyme, sherry, peas, parsley, salt and pepper and stir well. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.

Divide the warm filling among six 10- to 12-ounce potpie tins or individual ramekins (small baking dishes).

Place chilled dough on a floured surface and roll out to ¼-inch thick. Cut into six rounds about 1 inch larger than the circumference of the dish or dishes.

Lay a dough round over each filled potpie tin or ramekin. Turn the overhanging dough back under itself and flute the edges with a fork. Cut a 1-inch slit in the top of each pie… or several slits in the top of one large pie.

Line a baking sheet with foil (to catch liquid that bubbles over). Place pies on baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes or until the pastry is golden and the filling bubbles. Serve hot.

Makes 6 individual pies or one large potpie.

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Cream Drop Biscuits

Not food related but I had to post a few pictures from today's game. I took the day off and went to the last regular season home game. We were at the game on Tuesday night and after the Braves lost and the Rockies won, we thought about the possibility of the Rockies clinching a playoff spot at home. We considered going to the game yesterday but we decided to watch it on tv instead. When the Braves lost again and the Rockies won, the Rockies magic number dropped to 1 (meaning Rockies either win 1 game or Braves lose 1 game and the Rockies are in).

Today's win was HUGE. I mean how awesome is it to clinch and celebrate at home instead of on the road? If they had lost today it wouldn't have been over but they were leaving for the last three games in LA, against the Dodgers.

I was getting a little worried especially with the Braves and their recent winning streak. Back in August, the team we were worried about was the Giants but well...they choked. The Rockies had a comfortable lead and we all starting crunching numbers to see how many games the Rockies MUST win in order to make it to the postseason. We compared both teams' schedules and the Braves were definitely facing "easy" to beat teams. We can use all our stats skills and we still could not guarantee the Rockies in the postseason. We knew all too well what happened in 2007. The Rockies were out of the race until they had the ridiculous winning streak in September and won 21 out of 22 games. We were playing the Diamondbacks, we won and for us to tie for the Wildcard, the Padres had to lose. We kept checking the scores and Tony Gwyn Jr (while playing for the Brewers) hit the ball and the Padres ended up losing.

We were back at Coors Field the very next day on October 1, 2007 to watch the NL Wildcard Tie Breaker. I have to say that the Tie Breaker was the best game ever. (I know people still doubt Holliday touching the plate. I honestly don't know. Although we were right off the first base, we were in the suite and too high up to see and they don't replay controversial plays.) That season we were at over 30 games. In the weeks leading up to the postseason, we were at most of the games. I remember Helton's walk-off homerun against the Dodgers. I remember jumping up and hugging a stranger who shared the suite with us. I was so excited.

Rocktober!

Holliday was my favorite player but now he is with the Cardinals. My new favorite player is Tulowitzki. I remember when the 2007 playoff games were televised and the viewers heard the Tulo chant, everyone asked, "what the hell are they chanting at Coors Field?" It is series of hand claps followed by "Tulo."
9th inning and Morales (not Street) is closing. Coors Field was really packed but the top decks were mainly empty because most people on the top deck came down to stand on the concourse.

I know many people wonder why I am a Rockies fan when I am originally from San Diego. The Rockies play the Padres a lot and I root for the Rockies. The bf is from Illinois so he is a long time Cubs fan. He is also a Rockies fan so when they play each other (not too often) he intentionally does not wear any Rockies or Cubs gear.Dinger, our mascot is waving the flag.

Okay now a recipe.

The biscuits are so simple, the person who gave me the recipe said, “they are embarrassingly easy.” I love easy. I love not having to roll or pat any dough into some shape and not having to cut anything out.

After getting home from the game, I wanted to make something really easy but comforting. I’ve been craving a lot of comfort foods lately. The bf said I was making a different version of chicken potpie. (I made chicken potpies on Sunday and still haven’t had a chance to post about it.)

I took the liberty to change my friend’s recipe a bit. Mainly because I wanted to use up three cups of heavy cream but I also wanted a few extra biscuits. I ended up only using 2 cups of heaving cream even though I increased the other ingredients by 1.5 times. That is the thing with flour. Sometimes it absorbs more liquid and other times it absorbs less. I slowly stirred in the cream and after two cups it formed the lumpy dough. An extra cup and I probably would be making calorie-laden pancakes.

Lindsay's Cream Drop Biscuits

2 ½ cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups chilled heavy cream

Preheat oven to 400. Sift dry ingredients into a large bowl. Slowly pour in cream and stir until a lumpy dough just forms. Spoon about ¼ cup dough per biscuit onto greased cookie sheet. Bake 12-18 minutes, until tops are just golden brown.

I used:
3 ¼ cups cake flour
1 ½ tablespoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ tablespoon sugar
2 to 3 cups heavy cream (I used two but it may take up to 3 cups depending on your flour)

¼ cup unsalted butter
2 tablespoons honey

I preheated oven to 400 degrees. I put all the dry ingredients into a bowl but didn't bother sifting. I don't sift. I am an anti-sifter. I slowly pour in heavy cream and stirred. I spooned the dough onto a silicon lined baking sheet and baked until slighly golden.

Not from Lindsay's recipe but I decided to brush them with melted butter and honey. Melt 1/4 cup of butter with 2 tablespoons honey. I use local honey because it is supposed to help with my allergies.

Not the best picture but definitely better than the previous ones. I kept the biscuit and took a picture during the day. I also used my new camera (that I am still learning how to use).

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