Let's get a little Shaky!

Last year, I went to San Francisco and had a list of places to check out. One that really stood out to me was a small Vietnamese restaurant, Bodego Bistro. I was told I had to try their shaky beef (bo luc lac). And man, am I glad I did. I've had shaky beef before, but never with filet mignon! The dish came out with a huge plate of greens and this deliciously refreshing lime/black pepper sauce.

I was doing some research as to why the dish is called shaky beef and apparently, the name comes shaking the beef in the marinade (which I really didn't do) and shaking it in a hot wok. Interesting...

So I've attempted to recreate the meal here, minus the greens! It's normally served with a side of watercress, baby bib lettuce and sliced tomatoes. I wanted to forgo the greens and I don't like tomatoes, so that was a no go! One tip, the pan should be really hot cause you want to sear the meat. And the original recipe doesn't say to leave the meat in the marinade, but I left it in the marinade for about 30 minutes and it came out great!

Ingredients:
1-1.5lb filet mignon, cubed (you can also substitute in sirloin)
6 cloves of garlic, smashed and finely chopped
1 large yellow onion, quartered
1/4 cup of fish sauce (if you've never cooked with fish sauce before, it's extremely pungent)
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
1/4 teaspoon of corn starch

In a big bowl, mix together the garlic, fish sauce, sugar, EVOO and oyster sauce really well. Add the filet cubes and make sure to coat really well. Cover and let the meat marinade for about 30-40 minutes.

In a wok or pan, add a little bit of oil over high heat. Once the oil gets hot, add the beef cubes and marinade mix from the bowl and sear. Cook till desired doneness and add onions. Cook 2-3 minutes until the onions are tender. Remove from heat and add in the cornstarch to thicken the sauce.

If you are using the greens and tomatoes, arrange the watercress, lettuce and tomatoes on a plate. Scoop the beef of top and enjoy with a bowl of steaming jasmine rice!

You can also serve this with a lime/black pepper dipping sauce. Just combine the juice of one lime, 1/2 of teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of cracked black pepper. I also had a small dish of fish sauce with sliced thai chili peppers on the side as an additional dipping sauce.

Going South of the Border

As many of you know, the food truck phenomenon has made it's way into the area. Goodbye to the days of just getting a hot dog combo with a soda and chips and say hello to an around the world tour of delicious hand held bites.

One of my favorite places is District Taco,www.districttaco.com. They started as a food cart in Rosslyn and only within a year, opened up a full service restaurant on Lee Highway in Arlington! The meal is simple, but undeniably tasty. You can taste the freshness of the pico de gallo and the authentic flair of the carnitas. And for the price, you definitely get a great bang for the buck! Every time I've gone, whether it be for breakfast, lunch or dinner, the place is packed. It's almost developed a cult following.

I went this morning for breakfast and got two of their basic breakfast tacos (eggs, cheese and potatoes) and added chorizo and bacon, yummy. They have a really cool salsa bar set up in the restaurant with chopped onions,  jalapenos, pico, spicy and mild salsa. If you love spicy, the trick is to ask for their habanero sauce at the counter, but definitely use it sparingly, a little goes a long way with this sauce. And as a cherry on top of the sundae, I can actually have a soda here! They carry the brand that's made with real cane sugar, none of that high fructose corn syrup stuff. And one thing I noticed this morning, they are totally environmentally friendly! They promote recycling and even use biodegradable to-go plates.

One of my other favorite items are their burrito desnudo--a burrito bowl with your choice of meat, beans, rice, cheese and your choice of toppings. The portions are super generous, so there's no fear of going hungry a few hours later. And you  must try the chips and salsa, I don't know how they do it, but the chips are super fresh and crisp and the salsa (with a little habanero sauce added in) is mouth watering delicious! I've heard that they make a great quesadillas, so that's on my list of gotta try. So if you're looking for a delicious meal on a budget, definitely give District Taco a try!

As a side note, a few weeks ago they held a taco eating contest. The object was to eat as many tacos as possible within the allotted 15 minute period in the following order and repeat once completed:

1. Breakfast taco (egg, cheese, chorizo)
2. Pollo asado (chicken, cheese, pico de gallo)
3. Carnitas (pork, cheese, pico de gallo)
4. Carne asada (steak, cheese, pico de gallo)

The current champion ate 15 tacos in 15 minutes. I'm kinda aspiring to take on the challenge one day!

Spaghetti and meatballs!!!

With the cold weather and recent thundersnow we had this past week, it's made me really crave some good old fashion comfort food. When my friend Theresa told me about this yummy spaghetti and meatball recipe, I had to try it. Even her baby daughter liked it, so I totally couldn't pass it up!

I've made spaghetti and meatballs before, usually with a jar of store bought marinara sauce and premade meatballs. It's been my go to quick and easy meal to make for one of those long days afterwork. So I figured I'd turn it up a notch and make my own meatballs and marinara sauce! I just want to preface now that you'll need a few hours to get the sauce just right and it needs to stew for a few hours. I didn't give any measurements for salt in the recipe below, so add it according to your own particular taste. I've also been known to over salt things, so I'm probably not the best judge on how much salt to use. My addiction to sodium is something I'm trying to reign in. But I also blame my faux pas with the salt to the fact that I don't really understand the difference between table salt, kosher salt and sea salt (mental note to self - must google the differences later). We have all 3 in the pantry, and to be honest with you, I love sea salt. I think it tastes the best, so I put it on just about everything!

With that said, my meatballs came out amazingly delicious!! They were juicy and flavorful. I can totally see this being a great party appetizer down the road. If making spaghetti and meatballs, I suggest starting with the marinara sauce first, that way you can have that cooking on the back burner as you make the meatballs.

Meatball recipe:

Ingredients

Extra-virgin olive oil
1 large sweet onion, diced
Sea salt
4 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
Pinch crushed red pepper
1lb pound lean ground beef
1lb pound ground lamb (the real recipe called for ground veal, but I love lamb)
1lb pound ground pork
2 large eggs
1 cup grated Parmigiano
a large handful of finely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
1 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup water

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Coat a large saute pan with EVOO over medium-high heat and add the onions. Season the onions generously with salt and cook until the onions are soft and aromatic, but have no color. Add the garlic and the
crushed red pepper and saute for another 1 to 2 minutes. Turn off heat and allow to cool.

In a large bowl combine the meats, eggs, Parmigiano, parsley and bread crumbs. It works well to squish the mixture with your hands. Add the onion mixture and season generously with salt and squish some more. Add the water and do one final really good squish. Don't over process the meat too much or it will get tough. The mixture should be quite wet. Test the seasoning of the mix by making a mini-burger size patty and cooking it.The mixture should taste really good! If it doesn't it is probably missing salt. Add more.

Shape the meat into golf ball size. I made about 40 meatballs. Coat a large saute pan with EVOO and bring to a medium-high heat. Brown the meatballs on all sides. Place them on a cookie sheet and bake them in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes. If using right away, add them to your big pot of marinara sauce. If not using right away, they can be frozen for later use. Serve with pasta and sauce or just eat them straight out of the pot! YUMMY!


Marinara Sauce:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 pound diced pancetta
2 large yellow onions, diced
Sea salt
5 large garlic cloves, smashed and chopped
4 (28-ounce) cans Italian plum tomatoes

Pass the tomatoes through the food mill. Be sure to pass all of the pulp through the holes leaving only the stems and the seeds. Set tomato sauce aside.

Coat a large sauce pot with EVOO over medium heat and add the pancetta. Cook the pancetta for about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the onions, season generously with salt and stir to coat well with olive oil. Cook the onions until they become very soft and aromatic but have no color. Add the garlic and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes stirring frequently.

Add the tomatoes to the pan of pancetta and onions. Rinse out one of the empty tomato cans with water and add that water to the pot. Season with salt and TASTE IT!!!! Tomatoes take a lot of salt. Season with salt in baby steps and taste every step of the way. Cook the sauce for 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally and tasting frequently.

Two tips: if the sauce is a little too runny, add in some tomato paste. Also, if the tomatoes are too tart, add in a pureed carrot.

Use the sauce right away on pasta or for any other tomato sauce need. This sauce can also be cooled and stored in the refrigerator for a few days and freezes really well.

Since we have plenty of leftover meatballs and marinara sauce, I'm thinking it'll make a great lunch the next day - meatball sub!!!

How it all began...

So I've loved food all my life! But quality was never one of my biggest concerns. For me, I'd take quantity over quality any day. Take me to a buffet and I'd park my butt in that seat, engorging myself for hours! As long as my belly was full, I was a happy camper. And I definitely was not a healthy eater! Junk food and take out were my regular go to's. I remember doing an all fast food diet in college for about a week straight.

Along the way though, I did discover the joys of eating real quality foods! I think I can attribute that to my husband. He taught me the ways of a foodie and opened my eyes to the endless possibilities out there. Now I by no means call myself a foodie, far from it! I'll pay $10 to eat at a hole in the wall place hidden in a strip mall as fast as I would eat at a ritzy fancy shmancy place.

About two years ago, I decided that I'd try to be all organic and eat as many natural foods as possible. Well, seeing as how we ate out 4-5 times a week, this was next to nearly impossible. How can I ask a waiter if the rack of lamb I'm about to consume is organic and came from a humanely raised farm? So to tackle that problem, I decided to face my nemesis...the kitchen! I hardly cooked and if I did, it totally involved the microwave oven! Ask my husband about the time I tried to help him out in the kitchen, and he asked me to butter the top of the hamburger bun, and I literally buttered the top of the bun! So needless to say, my culinary skills were quite lacking. However, I took to the challenge of cooking as I would do any obstacle, hit it head on and beat it to a pulp!  I actually learned that I have quite a knack for cooking and really do enjoy it! Now, I still go out, how can I not? There are so many great food options in our area! But if I'm out, I kinda have to throw that whole organic thing out the window, as long as I control the food supply in my own kitchen, I'm happy. As recently as few months ago, I picked up baking! Woah...never saw that one coming. But I've actually managed to make some delicious cupcakes and cookies! And since I've recently given up high fructose corn syrup, I can still indulge my sweet tooth by baking.

So fast forward to today, I have some amazing kitchen gadgets and tools and love making delicious food to fill my belly! I hope to use this platform to share some of my experiences and trials and tribulations of trying to be Marth-RA Stewart. So please feel free to share comments and critiques!