I like quick and easy dinners. They fit my busy schedule very well. When time is allowed, I also enjoy slow cooking that brings bold, rich flavor. Braised grass fed oxtail with risotto is one of our favorate dishes. Grass fed beef has wonderful flavor. If you have not tried them yet, you don't know what you have missed.

Braised Oxtail: 烧牛尾
1 to 1.5 lb of oxtail
1 tbsp veg oil
1 chopped large onion,
3 carrots chopped into small pieces
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp thyme and basil
2 tbsp flour
1 tsp worcestershire sauce or soy sauce
Salt and pepper to tast

Season the oxtail with salt and pepper. In a Dutch oven, brown the oxtails on all sides in hot oil. Set aside. Add onion, carrots sautee for 2 minutes season with fresh ground peppers. Add flour and cook for 30 second. Return the oxtail back into the dutch oven and add water. Water should cover the oxtail. Somepeople like to use chicken stock. I don't trust the processed liquid with so called "no MSG". Water is fine unless you have homemade chicken stock. Add a bay leaf, thyme and basil. Bring it to boil. Cover and bake in a 350F oven for 4 hours. Season with salt and pepper when it is done.

Risotto:
2 tbsp butter
1 cup Arborio rice
1 chopped medium onion
Hot water or again if you want to use the so called "no MSG" chicken stock
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup milk
Salt and pepper
Heat the butter in a heavy buttom pan. Cook the onion until soft season with salt and pepper about 3 minutes. Add rice and cook until it turns color, about 5 minutes. Add water to the pan and cover the rice, stirring frequently. Once the water is absorbed by rice, add more and repeat the process until the rice is close to soft but still a little firm. Add milk cook until the rice is soft and creamy. Stir in parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.



所用红萝卜来自我家菜园今年的丰收



Homemade dinner rolls: 自制晚餐面包

One of the most amazing things I think when I first came to American is the American baking. I was fascinated about how American woman can make variety desserts and bread at home. I am talking about the oven here, not the bread maker that raise the dough and bake the bread for you. My mother-in-law is a great cook. Her homemade dinner rolls are famous. I always hang out in the kitchen to watch her cook every time when we visited. I learned a lot. Here is my version of the dinner rolls that I learned from her. I can't dare to say her version.........

All I need are flour (I love to use unbleached flour, about 4 and half cup), 1/3 cup of sugar, 1/3 cup of butter, 1/2 tsp of salt, 1 cup warm milk, 2 eggs and 2 and 1/2 tsp of yeast.

Here are the homemade dinner rolls. They are fluffy and buttery. (Note the braised Oxtail is in the French Dutch oven )










Classic Chocolate cake with Ganoise frosting: 精典巧克力蛋糕

Everyone loves chocolate. I have not heard that anyone allergic the chocolate. If there are, they don't know what they missed. Talking about the chocolate, I still remember the trip to Paris couple years ago. Paris didn't impress me too much. But the chocolate and food stayed in my memory forever. I love the European chocolate. They have pure coco flavor with right amount of sweetener. They are perfect for eating and cooking. There are over thousands of chocolate cake recipes out there. I am sure you have at least 1 or 2. My opinion is to use good quality of chocolate. You will notice the difference when you take the first bite of the chocolate cake. Good cake should be fluffy and creamy. This chocolate cake was made from European dark chocolate. My husband brought them back from far away and made this cake more special.

Bake the cakes and cool completely before frosting. Trim the cake if they are needed.




Frost the cake carefully:

















I am sure you now want to try to make your own. You can do it.