Oscars-watching party with homemade kabocha mac-and-cheese

I never understood the hype about mac-and-cheese when I first came to the States. I think it's the American equivalent of the Chinese comfort food porridge, also a calorie-loaded version. Anyhoo, 11 years after my living in Texas, I'm finally trying to make mac and cheese from scratch! (I still think the instant versions are gross, fake cheese!) I'm starting to get the comforting aspect of this dish.

What I used
1 kabocha {a Japanese squash}
8 oz./ half-bag of elbow macaroni {full bag at 16 oz.}
1 cup of grated kraft sharp cheddar cheese
1/8 cup of grated Romano cheese
1.5 cup milk
1/2 Tablespoon butter
Some scallions {Chive would be the right thing to use, I used what I have in the fridge}
2 pieces of dried red peppers, finely chopped {could also use a pince of powder cayanne pepper}
Sprinkles of panko {Japanese break crumbs}

What I did
Cut kabocha in half, scrap out seeds. Steam over water for 10 minutes until soften. Remove skin and dice kabocha in small cubes.
Boil macaroni in salted water until cooked but slightly firm. Drain and shock in ice water to maintain firmness.
Place cubed kabocha in pot, add red peppper flakes, butter + milk to simmer. Mix well. Add macaroni and cheese, mix well. Add more milk if the mixture is too thick. Turn off heat and add scallion.
Pour mixture into a deep baking pan. Sprinkles panko and more cheese on top.
Bake at 400ºF (or 204ºC) for 10 minutes, then broil (to brown the top) for another 5 minutes. Keep an eye on it while broiling to avoid burning the food.

Italian Meatballs

I found this wonderful recipe for meatballs on Beck's blog and modify based on what I have in my kitchen and what I could get my hands on.

Original recipe here

What I used

For the Meatballs
1/2 lb ground beef 1.3 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork
1/2 lb ground veal
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan, Pecorino, or Romano Cheese
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley Cilantro
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
1/2 cup fresh, fine bread crumbs  Used panko + water instead
(I just take a piece of gluten-free bread, rip it up into pieces, and them give the pieces a whirl in the blender. You can use Panko if you want, but you need the crumbs to be moist, so be sure to rehydrate them with 1/2 a cup of water when you mix them into the meat).

Happy meat balls awaiting going into the pan.

For the sauce

1 medium yellow onion, chopped I forgot to buy
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil drizzle instead
1/4 cup fresh basil, packed (use 2-3 tablespoons dried if fresh is not available. Maybe 1 tablespoon of Oregano too). I chopped mine up so I didn't have to take out the blender afterwards
1 + 1/2 teaspoons fennel seeds (so essential! Don't skip!)
3 cans fire-roasted, diced tomatoes (14.5oz each) 1 can fire-roasted tomatoes + 1 baby can of tomato paste

What I did

Making the balls

Combine all the metal ball ingredients. Mix well with clean hands. Roll into balls.

Pan fry meatballs until golden outside, 80% cooked.

Making the sauce

Sauté garlic until slightly golden, add fire-roasted tomatoes (smells heavenly!), tomato paste and chopped basil. Add about a baby can of water to get right consistency for sauce. Season with salt + pepper. Add meat balls and simmer fo 10 minutes or until meal balls cook thoroughly.

Results:
Tender juicy meatballs. I'm sure it'd be even better if I had followed the original recipe to the T.  I'd definitely thick twice now when I consider ordering meatballs at a restaurant. Why eat out if I can make them just as good, if not better. #ShamelessBrag

Getting more of a a dish:
To make full use of this delicious sauce, I later boiled a bag of penne in salt water and serve the pasta along with meatball and its sauce. Lunch for work, done!

Ina Garten's Roasted Asparagus

•  A bundle of fresh asparagus
• Good olive oil
• Kosher salt, plus extra for sprinkling
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 
  

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Break off the tough ends of the asparagus and, if they're thick, peel them. Place the asparagus on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, then toss to coat the asparagus completely. Spread the asparagus in a single layer and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Roast the asparagus for 25 minutes, until tender but still crisp.

Lemon-Rubbed Chicken Legs with Garlic and Rosemary

2 whole chicken legs (about 1 pound total)
1 lemon, halved
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary leaves or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary,crumbled
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
3 tablespoons water

Pat chicken dry and rub all over with a lemon half. {I am using drumstick here.} Season with salt, pepper, and half of rosemary. In a 10-inch heavy skillet heat oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and sauté chicken, skin sides down, 7 minutes, or until golden brown. Turn chicken over and squeeze juice from remaining lemon half over chicken. Cook chicken, covered, over moderately low heat 30 minutes more, or until cooked through. *Note to self: must be patient to give it at least 20 minutes of covered cooking time or chicken will be raw around the bones!

Transfer chicken to 2 plates. Add garlic and remaining rosemary to skillet and sauté over moderately high heat until just golden. Add water, scraping to loosen brown bits, and simmer 1 minute. Drizzle sauce over chicken.

Adapted from Epicurious

Saba Shioyaki / Grill Salted Mackerel

Super easy and fast.

1 Mackerel filet / store bought, already salted

Salt + Pepper

..Mackerel pat dry, cut in 3 pieces per filet.
..Optional: on baking sheet, drizzle a tiny bit of oil. Mackerel is an oily fish, this step just prevents the fish from sticking to the sheet.
..Place filet skin side up on aluminum foil. Season with pepper.
..Broil for about 8 minutes or until skin is lightly crisp and brown.
..Serve with lime or grated daikon {radish} with ponzu.

The best way is to eat with white rice. Yum! Just beware of fine bones in fish.

Chin-Kiang Style Ribs 鎮江骨

From left: Brown candy, cooking wine, dark vinegar, dark soy sauce, regular soy

2 lbs / 腩排 / Finger Pork Ribs

1 tsp / 生抽 / Regular soy sauce

2 Tbp / 老抽 / Dark (old) soy sauce

4 Tbp / 鎮江醋 / Chin-Kiang Chinese dark vinegar

1 Tbp / 紹酒 / Shao Xing Chinese cooking wine

2 pcs / 八角 / Dried anise

1 pc/ 片糖 / Brown block sugar

White Pepper

Sesame Oil

1. Marinate finger ribs with regular soy, white pepper, wine and sesame oil for
   at least 15 min.
2. Pan fried until golden outside, 70% cooked.
3. Add 1–1.5 cups of water, dark soy sauce, brown block sugar, dark vinegar and anise.
4. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer.
5. Simmer for 30–45 minutes or until sauce thickens and meat fall off bones.

1. 腩排 洗淨, 抺干, 用生抽, 胡椒粉, 紹酒, 麻油醃15分鐘
2. 煎四面至金黃(六, 七成熟)
3. 加水1.5–2 碗, 老抽1湯匙, 片糖1片, 鎮江香醋4湯匙, 八角2粒, 煮滾, 收慢火
4. 燘30-45分鐘, 或至汁濃, 肉離骨

I used boneless pork ribs this time, it would have been so much better with bones and a little fattier. The fat really adds to keeping the meat moist and tender.

Green Tea Panna Cotta

1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup half and half
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon matcha (I bought mine from MT supermarket, $6.49 for 1.05 oz., Hana market sells for <$5.xx, better deal!)


+Soften gelatin in 1 tablespoon cold water.
+In small bowl, whisk matcha with 2 tablespoons of half and half mixture until smooth. {Matcha powder is difficult to mix completely in. Warm up half-n-half prior for easier whisking, also pour liquid over powder, not vice versa. I also used a small frother to stir, very handy.)
+In small saucepan, heat sugar and 1 cup half-n-half until sugar dissolves, no need to boil.
+Turn off heat.
+Whisk in softened gelatin (from above) and vanilla extract.
+Mix in remaining half-n-half + matcha mixture; strain and divide among 3 small cups/ramekin.
+Cover + refrigerate for at least 2 hours prior to serving.

Note: If you want to serve panna cotta on a plate, line the cup with a thin layer of neutral oil (such as canola) before pouring the panna cotta mixture. Before serving, dip cup in hot water and turn cup upside down. The panna cotta will slide off perfectly.