Follow me at Leftover Makeover

Dear friends again. Please follow me at Leftover Makeover. This is my only blog website. Thank you again.

Cook more and blog more in 2015

Dear friends. Sorry for being absent for so long. I am going to blog as often as I can especially when I am cooking everyday. I appreciate your patience. Thank you.

Sake Mushrooms Alaskan Halibut

Well, Alaskan Halibut is one of my favourite white fish other than the snapper, seabass and cod. I used the sake instead of white wine to enhance the flavor of the mushrooms and other ingredients in it. Good for dinner, eat with jasmine steamed rice. Yummy......

Recipe soon to come...........

4 Fruit Fennel Chicken salad

Gregg loves the Apple Fennel Salad I made for him few months ago. Yesterday I was recreating the recipe with slight changes. I added oranges and grapefruit I have in the fridge. They are few weeks old. However, it is still ok to consume, eventho not as fresh and juicy. Good to save lots of money and the hassle to buy more at the groceries. When you feel like eating it, just make it and find the ingredients in your house. Also, I keep the fresh mission figs in the kitchen (not in the fridge) so that the figs will shrink and have the sweetness enhanced. I help you save lots of money here. Hahahahhaha. To have some protein, just garnished with some sliced leftover roasted chicken.

Recipe soon to come...

Chef Chong's Mini Double Chocolate Cake

Gregg and I were invited to a dinner of a friend's house, Miss Fain Hancock in Napa Valley. At the same time, there is a River Festival going on this Labor Day weekend. So I insisted to bring a dessert to her house. Just happened the other day, Gregg was talking about the chocolates and cocoa powder in our pantry. It then struck me, telling me to make a Chocolate cake. At first I was planning to make a Chocolate Lava Cake, the mini size. Since this is my first time making it from scratch, no recipes required, the mini size cake turned into Double chocolate cake, soft in the inside and pretty in the outside. Oh, it is not too sweet, good with ice-cream or caramel or chocolate sauce.

Recipe to come soon........

Simply Carrost Beans

Want something healthy and light and tasty. I got the baby carrots and string beans from work. They are actually a week old. The Chef wanted to get rid of it, and asked me to take home. So I did and I transformed it into this beautiful colorful dish with garlic oil. Just add in salt and pepper, you can have this light healthy greens on the table. Oh, just sauteed, no need the oven.

Recipe soon to come.............

Figs Plum Salad

Oh gosh, this is my favourite! Gregg and I loved it. We have a huge fig tree in the backyard, and everyday, we will search behind the big fig leafs for dark purple ripe mission figs. We will sometimes keep it for few days in a room temperature (remember not in the fridge)so that the sugar content is much condensed and sweet. You can see the skin will become wrinkly. So I used it for my salad with some 2 weeks old plums in the fridge. Mix it with Romaine or Butter lettuce or fennels. The dressing is important, I used the leftover corn fritter's dipping sauce as dressing. So you can imagine, the leftover makeover can really make something wonderful. Add some of the Malaysian shrimp crackers, fantastic texture for the whole salad when put in your mouth.

Recipe soon to come.....

Truffle Corn Soup

Totally leftover makeover. I got the leftover corn soup from work, Chef Neda made the corn soup for a family party few days ago. I kept it in the fridge with airtight container for few days. Still good, trust me. When you are at the restaurant, at a family party, at friends' gathering or anywhere you are dining, dont be afraid to take some leftover soup when asked. I have a basil plant in my backyard and a bottle of truffle oil. Use them....

Recipe soon to come.....

Craisins Alaskan Halibut

Chef Neda who is the Private Chef for a wealthy family in San Francisco and ex-Chef for French Laundry gave me some frozen Alaskan Halibut few days ago. I was thinking, should I just seared it with salt and pepper or making it more fancy and gourmet. Well, of cos, more gourmet and fine dining experience, Chef Chong's way. I have some craisins in the fridge, cut leeks and romaine. Good light bright idea, genius.... See, nothing goes to waste. Always keep those extra vegetable tops or shoots in a ziploc bag or air tight containers to keep it fresh. I was using Japanese Sake for this Halibut and it was wonderful. Gregg loves it and we were silent when we had the first bite of the halibut... yum yum yum....:)

Recipe soon to come.............

Trout Bouganon

I was inspired by Julie and Julia movie, Julie made a Beef Bouganon and she burnt it the first time. I always advise my friends, dont cook stew at late nite. So I made my version of bouganon, Trout Bouganon. Gregg and I caught some Trouts in July at the Trout Farm Tahoe. We kept some in the freezer. So I was craving for fried sweet and sour fish, but have the idea of making it French way. I pull out the hard frozen trout and thawed it in the fridge overnite. I have also lots of old yam, vegetables and squash. Good idea for a stew, always remember this. Dont go to waste, and nothing goes to waste. Asian way of living, save and rich.

Recipe soon to come......

Chef Chong's Apple Pie

My partner and I went to Colorado to visit a friend of his, Cecilia Pang. She is a very adorable and outspoken lady, nice to hang out with her. She has a puff pastry pie shell in her freezer, sitting for so long. She wanted me to make an apple pie with it, cos she loves apple pie. I thought her to make my famous Apple Pie and she loves it. She can make it on her own now, cos I know she can.

Ingredients:-

3 Granny smith apple
2 Red Delicious
(actually, more granny smith gives better tartness and body to your pie)
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (it depends on your taste, you can put 1 1/2 tsp)
1/2 cup Dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
a pinch of salt
1/2 stick unsalted butter
8" Puffy pie shell frozen (from Safeway or Walmart or any)

Method:-

1. Peel, core and dice the apple (a size of popcorn)
2. Use a pot or saucepan, cook the apple, both sugar and the butter together until a little soft. Use medium heat.
3. Add in salt, ground cinnamon and nutmeg
4. Cook until the all the apple look glossy and syrupy, take one and taste it. Not too soft tho cos we need to cook it again in oven with the 8" pie shell.
5. Put aside and let the apple cool down a little.
6. Heat the oven to 375 deg.
7. Pour the cool down apple into the shell.
8. Add any toppings you want, either another pie shell or sugar crumbs. When you used another pie shell, remember to brush with beaten egg and poke a whole in the at the center, so that the steam will come out from the apple while baking. Brush the
9. Bake for 25 min the most, and check the color of the crust to your preference.

Sugar crumbs:-

1/2 cup Dark Brown sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 stick unsalted butter, must be cold but not too hard
a pinch of salt

Pinch with your fingers or use folk to crumb all together until crumbly. Remember dont melt the butter.

A Little Love Sweet Spread

What is A Little Love Sweet Spread? Well, it is a very special spread, cook with love and passion, deliciuos, creamy, sweet and alternative to Peanut Butter and Nutella. Good for breakfast, snacks or even a quick lunch or dinner. The main ingredient is coconut cream, for those love this exotic palm fruit. In Malaysia, we call it "Kaya" meaning Rich. So it is truely rich in flavor and it will not disappoint you once you have it. You can get it at www.angelnet.com.

Substitute for Sugar

What if you dont have a pinch of granulated sugar at home when you want to sweeten your coffee, make muffins and sweet pastries, make sweet and sour meat, make jams, make sweet vinegarettes for salads and some savory dishes? Dont get Panic! Just look for anything which is sweet, for example, honey, chinese sugarcane bar sugar, rock sugar, palm sugar (if you want some coconut flavor), confectionary or powder sugar or worse come to worst is candy. You wont go wrong, Trust me!

Happy Holidays