RESEP MASAKAN ORIENTAL

Yes, it's true! A couple poppy seed muffins can cause a positive drug test for opiates. So if you're being tested tomorrow, never mind, but the rest of you are encouraged to try this poppy seed muffin I'm testing for the cookbook, and let me know what you think. I think I have the formula down, and I really love the taste and texture of this easy recipe. Enjoy! Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins Makes 12 2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1 stick (1/2-cup) unsalted butter, softened 1 cup white granulated sugar finely grated zest from 2 lemons 2 large eggs 2 tablespoon lemon juice 1 cup sour cream 2 tablespoons poppy seeds For the glaze: 1 tablespoon lemon juice 3 tablespoons powdered sugar Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a bowl, and reserve until needed. In a mixing bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and lemon zest, until light and creamy. Beat in the eggs o...

My favorite candy growing up was the chocolate covered cherry. I didn't have them often, but when I did, it was always a special treat. The way that thin, crisp chocolate would break away to reveal the florescent red maraschino cherry suspended in the clear syrup was intoxicating. I almost never eat them anymore; only on the rare occasion my mother, Pauline, or mother-in-law, Peggy, happen to have some out, usually around the holidays. One such occasion came on my recent trip back to Clifton Springs, NY, and as I enjoyed the sweet treat a strange thought popped into my brain. What about a savory dish that celebrated the same basic flavors? I remembered seeing Alton Brown use cocoa in a rub for chicken, and since I had a pork tenderloin sitting in the fridge, just a shelf away from a jar of black cherry preserves, I figured, why not? I really loved how this came out, and while it's obviously an unsweetened version of chocolate being used, the plate definitely had some of the sam...

Here is the apple crisp recipe that I teased yesterday, with the outrageous claim that it’s the crispiest apple crisp topping ever. Can I prove that fact? No, and that’s the beauty of such culinary hyperbole, no one can prove otherwise. The secret ingredient, as identified by several astute observers yesterday, is Grape Nuts . This extremely crispy and crunchy breakfast cereal does some amazing things to your basic oatmeal-based fruit crisp topping mixture. I figured anything that can soak in milk for 10 minutes and still be crunchy, would work well. Here is a link in case you are not familiar with this product, and if you can’t get any, don’t worry, you can just double the oatmeal, or add other things like chopped nuts, etc. Will it be as good? No, not even close. By the way, in case you’re not sure, this is a dessert. It’s not a breakfast food, it’s not a healthy snack, it’s a sweet, buttery, deliciously crispy dessert. If you want healthy, slice some apples over a bowl of oatmeal, ...

“Fusion” cuisine is nothing new. For many years Chefs have been combining aspects from different cuisines to create new and exciting combinations. That Chipolte aioli mayo spread you had on that meatloaf sandwich last week is just one example. When done correctly this “Fusion” cuisine can result in some amazing dishes. Unfortunately, in many cases, these combinations are forced and contrived and just don’t work. When that happens you have what Chefs jokingly call “Confusion” cuisine. The dish I’m doing today, I hope, is an example of fusion cuisine done right. I’m using a classic Provencal combination of fresh tuna served over a very flavorful Blood Orange Tapenade Citronette. The style I’m using to prepare the tuna is classic Japanese sashimi technique called “Tataki.” This is my favorite way to eat tuna at my local Sushi Bar. They take the freshest tuna possible, give it a quick sear on all sides, slice it thin, and serve it with the traditional sushi garnishes; soy, wasabi, pickled ...

Some of you may have already seen this short and disturbing video clip of celebrity cook Paula Deen, and her recent wardrobe malfunction. Apparently, the weight of the cordless microphone set on her pants pulled them down causing her to moon the audience - who seemed to enjoy it a little too much. This really upset me because if I ever get a show on Food Network, I had planned to do the exact same thing as a publicity stunt. Now, I've have to come up with a Plan B. The question in the poll is regarding whether you think this was an accident, or she planned the whole thing. Did Paula Deen intentionally expose her buttocks? No! They probably just slipped from all the butter on her. Yes! That's how those southern ladies roll.    Free polls from Pollhost.com Paula Deen Cake Photo (c) Flickr user bunchofpants

Sure, you could serve some high-end Beluga or Ossetra caviar at your Oscars viewing party, but the problem with that plan is you’d have to get rich first. I’m not saying you won’t eventually be rolling in it, but the Academy Awards are Sunday, and we don’t want to rush you. Instead, you can go with a more affordable option like the gorgeous trout roe seen glistening herein. This was only $25 for a 2-oz jar, and that’s purchased in San Francisco, one of the most expensive places on earth, so I’m hoping you can do even better than that. It’s so obvious that I didn’t even mention it in the video, but of course this will work with any type of caviar. Having said that, when you consider value, it’s hard to beat these golden beads. Trout roe has a fresh, clean, briny flavor, and an absolutely beautiful texture. The feeling of those little, subtly salty eggs popping on your tongue is one of life’s great food experiences. As far as portioning goes, if you use as much as I did on the first bat...

Even though I've always found the name, "smothered pork chops," a little unsettling, it's one of my favorite southern recipes. A beautiful combination of dark, rich onion gravy covering pan-fried pork chops. While the name may have some other more nefarious connotations, it really is quite appropriate. I mean, what else woud we use? "Covered pork chops," doesn't work. Swamped? Enveloped? Gravyfied? No, smothered pork chops is exactly what these are. The secret to this very simple recipe is to take your time and really brown the onions well. Short of being totally black, you really can’t cook them too dark. This will give your gravy its deep, rich taste, and just as importantly, its mouth-watering color. These are definitely going in the cookbook, so as always, if you give them a try, please let me know what you thought. Enjoy! Ingredients: 4 large pork chops, about 1 inch thick 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste 2 ...

This video recipe is my fairly weak attempt at the famous Vietnamese spicy beef noodle soup, Pho. As I shopped for the ingredients, I ha d a nice package of bee f oxtail in my hand, but since I was just making a s mall batch, and I already had two beautiful beef shanks in the basket, I decided to not get them. That was a mistake. While this beef noodle soup wasn't bad, it wasn't spectacularly great w hich is what Pho should be. The signature of this soup is a very rich, deeply flavored, collagen-infused beef broth. I overestimated the beef shanks, and it was lacking exactly what the oxtails would have added. Also, to add to this Pho's fauxness, I went pretty light on the spices. Real Pho has more of the aromatic spices you'll see in the video. I also didn’t add the extra sliced beef that is traditional, like brisket, flank, and thinly sliced, rare filet mignon. I also didn’t char the ging er, which is recommended. I also didn't pronouce Pho correctly - I say, "...

When shopping, I like to take a quick peek at the end of the meat case where they sometimes have marked-down cuts that are past their prime. I usually stay away from the smaller, thinner pieces, as they tend to go bad faster, but once in a while I’ll find a big roast, like the one that inspired this delicious red beef curry; and as the old saying goes, the only thing better than a 3-pound chuck roast, is a half-priced, 3-pound chuck roast. By the way, this “Reduced for Quick Sale” meat is generally fine taste and texture-wise, but the surface of the meat has oxidized, so it doesn’t look very appetizing. Other than that, it’s perfectly fine to use, especially in a slow-braised recipe like this. I cooked mine on low, for about 7 or 8 hours, until it was fork tender, but if you’re in a hurry, you can do it on a higher setting. Conventional wisdom is that the longer slower method is superior, but in all honesty, I don’t think there ' s a huge difference, so suit yourself. No matter wh...

Sometimes you just have to cheat. I was planning to serve a beautiful seared Ahi tuna loin. I wanted to slice it and serve it on an olive Tapenade. This is a classic combination in the Mediterranean, but I had one problem, I didn’t have the hour it was going to take to shop for, and mince the 12 ingredients that go into my Tapenade recipe. Lucky, I live near a Trader Joes (a CostPlus World Market, or Whole Foods would have also worked), so I went in and bought a jar of prepared green olive Tapenade. Before it went into the basket I carefully checked the ingredients… nothing but vegetables and spices! It was incredibly close to the one I make from scratch, and so I decided to use it guilt-free. When I got home a quick taste-test confirmed my belief I had made a great decision. It tasted great and I was ready to move on to the tuna. So the point is, if you’re going to “cheat” and use prepared foods, make sure they’re high-quality and all natural. Now, this Tapenade would have made a grea...

Photo by Flickr User TimShoesUntied I'm finishing up my last day of work here at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival , and fly back to snowy San Francisco tomorrow. This means I will miss the Oscars, which upsets me about as much as missing a dentist appointment, but had I been around I would have done some kind of special Oscar party snack, probably based around popcorn. So instead you'll have to suffer though this little collection of popcorn-based content from YouTube. The song, "Popcorn," was the first "favorite song" I ever remember having, and below you get to see Will Ferrell dance to it. We also has a spicy popcorn by Pedro Ceja; a Parmesan Popcorn & Chocolate-Covered Cornflakes snack duo from Amy Blogs Chow; and finally, a super-slow-mo of a kernel of popcorn popping, just because. Enjoy! Will Ferrell Dances to the Popcorn Song Spicy Popcorn by Pedro Ceja Amy Blogs Chow: Parmesan Popcorn & Chocolate-Covered Cornflakes Popcorn Kernel in ...

There are many reasons to go out for breakfast or brunch on the weekend. Maybe it’s a break from the daily routine, maybe it’s the Mimosas (when else can you start drinking before noon and feel good about it), or maybe it’s the Homefries. Let’s face it, those crusty, crunchy, hot-off-the-grill potatoes that come with your omelet are a pretty good reason alone to venture out. Very few of us can duplicate those at home. When most of us try to make Homefries, we just don’t get the same results. They look the same; they’re golden-brown and cooked all the way through, but they just don’t have that beautiful crusty/crispy texture. In this demo you’ll see why. The key is pre-cooking the potatoes in water first, and then frying. By the way, this is my mom’s very basic recipe, and you can of course dress it up with diced peppers, mushrooms, onions, etc. 2 large russet potatoes 3 tbl olive oil 1 tsp salt (or to taste) 1/2 tsp black pepper 1/2 tsp paprika 1-3 cloves garlic 1 tbl cold butter

Wow, what a crazy busy week this was! I tested and photographed 10 recipes for the cookbook, including the succotash recipe immortalized in the last video. The photo below is from the smothered pork chop recipe I did today, and I also had the video camera rolling, so stay tuned for that very delicious plate of pig soon. Have a great weekend! UPDATE: I just posted the written recipe for this Smothered Pork Chops Recipe on my American Foods site. Enjoy!

Just wanted to do a quick hello from the 10th Annual South Beach Wine & Food Festival . Today was the first of three days in the Grand Tasting tent, where I'm serving as Chef Ambassador for Tonnino Tuna . Here I am standing in front of our table just moments before the gates opened and we were three-deep in hungry foodies eager to taste this great tuna. The fish was sampled very simply with "flavor enhancers" in front of each different variety. The consensus was, as I knew it would be, that the tuna was awesome. Anyway, stay tuned for more foodie fun soon, including a brand new video recipe I shot before I left. Thanks!

As promised, here’s the recipe for the chocolate cake that was featured in the orange Crème Anglaise video recipe we did a few weeks ago. In case you missed it, here’s what happened: We uploaded a perfectly fine looking custard sauce video, which no one cared about once they saw this gorgeous looking cake. Not only did the vast majority of the audience lose all interest in the Crème Anglaise, but they also started requesting the cake be shared in video recipe form. And by “request,” I mean they demanded under threat of grievous bodily harm. Well, it worked. By the way, you can use any pan for this cake, even a cupcake tin, as long as you’re prepared to adjust your baking time. I’d love to give you specific times, but that will depend on the exact size/type of pan. Best to test early and often with the old bamboo skewer, until it comes out clean. I joked in the intro that if you messed this up, you should never try to bake anything else again. The funny this is, that’s not a joke. Yo...

When most of you hear the word, "succotash," you probably don't think of a delicious vegetable side dish, you probably thin k of Warner Brother's Sylvester the cat's catchphrase, "Sufferin' succotash!" But succotash really is a great, and very underrated recipe. As I say in the video, this may be America's oldest vegetable recipe, coming from the Narragansett Indian word, "msíckquatash," which according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary means "boiled corn kernels." You can see from the photo, this is much more than that, combining an array of vegetables including corn, beans, and squash. These three ingredients were such an important source of nutr ition for the Native American's they were referred to as "The Three Sisters. " The way they cultivated these three plants together was sheer genius. The corn's stalks were perfect for the climbing vines of the bean plants. In turn, the bean's roots captured nit...

I’m all about simply prepared vegetables, but every once in a while I need to cover them in caramelized pork and cheese, and this stunningly delicious pancetta-wrapped leek gratin was one of those times. I love those times. This “umami bomb” is so flavorful and satisfying, it almost seems disrespectful to serve it as a side dish. Pair this with a slice of buttered bread, hedge your bets with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, and enjoy a truly special lunch. For extra credit, after you finish your meal, call your best French friend and describe what you had. They will love and hate you for it. So, whether you make this for lunch, or use it to upstage a steak or grilled piece of salmon, I hope you give this great leek gratin a try soon. Enjoy! Ingredients for 2 portions: 3 large leeks about 4 oz pancetta 2 tsp olive oil salt, pepper and cayenne to taste 1/4 cup chicken broth 1/4 cup drinkable white wine 1/3 cup heavy cream finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese as needed chives to garnish

Balls have always been problematic for menu and recipe writers. You can't write "Pork Balls" on a menu, you have to write "Pork Meatballs." Even though there would be no possibility of confusing these Bison balls with the reproductive parts of a male buffalo, the "balls" would never be written without the "meat." Well, I think it's high time this practice is sacked. Are we still so immature as a nation that we can't just serve balls? Do we have to keep a dding those extra letters for fear some 15-year old can't control his giggling at Hooters? Besides, now that 72% of all information (my estimate) is transmitted via text message, I would think we'd all benefit from chopping off a couple letters, e.g., MMA Tonys 4 bison balls. This recipe is inspired by the retro classic, cocktail meatballs in grape jelly. I took that idea, along with my love of spicy orange beef, and came up with this combination. I chose bison as the meat du...

I have no problem waiting a year to watch feature films via my overpriced cable provider, but the major drawback is that I never have any clue what's gong on during the Academy Awards show. I won't get any of Billy Crystal's inside jokes, and the video clip montages will only serve to confuse and annoy. So, for people like me, the highlight of any Oscar party is the food. Here are a few ideas that should garner rave reviews. Enjoy! Deviled Eggs with Candied Pepper Rings Clams Casino Dip Italian Rice Croquettes Green Hummus Bacon Ranch Chicken Skewers

As you can imagine, I get a lot of requests. I love the interaction with my viewers, and I try as often as possible to satisfy these culinary whims. But, it's not easy. So, if you've made a request and I haven't gotten to it, please don't take it personally (except for Pete, who wanted a classic Italian Lasagne with no cheese, meat products, wheat or salt. He also said he wasn't crazy about tomato sauce, but "use it if you have too"). As you can see from the photo, I do have a system set up for emailed requests. As soon as I get one, I print it out and stack it neatly on my desk. So be patient, I will eventually get to yours...as soon as I find it. By the way, now that the site is pretty much set-up, I will hopefully be back to posting every week day. On the weekends I'll try to post some fun food stuff I've found surfing the web. Anyway, keep those requests coming! Enjoy!

Fried Halloumi, native to Cyprus, may be the only food where the word "squeaky" comes up when people are describing this unique cheese. Halloumi is traditionally made from goat and sheep's milk, and is similar to a mozzarella, but denser, saltier, and…squeakier. Let me explain. What makes Halloumi unusual is it's very high melting point. Because of how the curd is heated, then brined and pressed, the cheese can be fried without melting. This makes for a very cool appetizer or meze, as they would call it in Cyprus. This video recipe I did for About.com shows my favorite way of preparing Halloumi. I think it's best when seared in a very hot pan, nice and brown, and then drizzled with a balsamic vinaigrette. Oh, and about this "squeakiness;" when you bite into the warm, fried cheese, it makes a slight squeak against your teeth. I find the sound and sensation oddly addictive. But, that's just part of the fun - the firm texture, and salty flavor, work gr...

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution is a new show that debuts Friday, March 26 on ABC. The series will center on Oliver's ongoing crusade to change the way modern society thinks about food and cooking, especially when it comes to children and school lunches. As someone whose blog is dedicated to encouraging people to cook more fresh foods at home, I'm very excited by this project, and hope it lives up to all the hype. To get you in the proper revolutionary state of mind, check out this TED lecture Oliver did recently. I've always been a big fan of Jamie Oliver's cooking style, and I think it's great for someone like him to use his celebrity to take on a system so horribly broken. Enjoy!

Okay, so you're probably aren’t fasting for Lent, at least not in the traditional sense, but that doesn't mean you still can't indulge for Mardi Gras (French for "fat Tuesday" …and it's not called that for nothing!). The official motto of Mardi Gras is, "Laissez le bon temp rouler" (pronounced lazay-la-bon-tom-roulay), which means, "let the good times roll!" With that in mind, I've linked below to some New Orleans-inspired classics I've posted before. I hope you give them a try. Enjoy! Creole Sausage and Shrimp Jambalaya Spicy Shrimp Etouffee Sausage and Chicken Gumbo New Orleans-Style French Toast "Pain Perdu"

In case you haven’t been following along, let me catch you up. On Wednesday we made a gorgeous roasted chicken broth for the expressed purpose of making this soul-warming soup. Here, we used that wonderfully flavorful broth to complete the recipe, and let me tell you, it was incredible. You know how much I hate to complicate a recipe, and I'll always err on the side of too few ingredients vs. too many, so when I make this chicken noodle soup it’s a constant battle to not add other “stuff.” Not that’s there’s anything wrong with stuff, per se, but if properly made, this soup is just too amazing in its pure and natural state for any distracting, supercilious additions. By the way, a little advice to you young up-and-coming food bloggers; never use “per se,” and “supercilious” in the same sentence. Yes, other than the mirepoix, and a tiny pinch of fresh thyme, the rest of this soup is basically chicken and noodles. Speaking of the noodles, I’m hoping you go with the wide ones I used....

I'm still in the jury pool, but it looks like today may be the last day. I hope to have this new video up tomorrow, and let me say, it was every bit as delicious as it looks and sounds.