Pinterest Party

My friend from college, Christine was coming to visit me this weekend and we were thinking of things we could do.  Since we both love to cook, I thought it would be fun to make Pinterest inspired recipes.  I always go on Pinterest for ideas but I never really get a chance to make them.

She sent me a few links that she liked and I picked out a few.  Off to Market Basket I went and returned home with a cart full of groceries for our fun filled day of cooking.

The first recipe we started with was the “Philly Cheesesteak stuffed bell peppers” courtesy of “Quick & Easy Recipes”.

This was a great Atkins friendly recipe with minimal carbs.  We didn’t follow the recipe to the exact and left out the butter and the first layer of provolone cheese. We threw in a couple of sweet red bell peppers for contrast against the green peppers.

The recipe came out delicious and we will definitely make this again!

NOTE: We started drinking and multi tasking in the kitchen so there aren’t many step by step pictures for the next few recipes.

Skinny Girl Margarita, Cosmo, Pina Colada

We started on the buffalo chicken bites courtesy of Laloosh. Again, we didn’t follow it exactly as we used regular flour instead of whole wheat and regular cream cheese in stead of fat free.  Even using their exact recipes, I am skeptical of the Weight Watchers points the website claims, (5 pieces for 3 WW points). I find that too good to be true.

These little bites of heaven were to die for! They are a nice twist of a similar recipe that I already make, Kelly’s buffalo dip recipe.  We will definitely be making these again!  I think I would just use a little less buffalo sauce since it was a bit on the salty side.

Lastly, we had a dessert recipe that was a disaster turned into something wonderful by accident.  We intended on making an Oreo & Ice Cream sandwich cake recipe by Kraft.  Being the “know it all” that I am, I didn’t fully read the instructions upfront and I messed up making INSTANT PUDDING! Who does that? First the milk was supposed to be COLD and I boiled it so the pudding was clumpy only to REALIZE that the pudding mix was supposed to be mixed with the jot fudge and not prepared per the instructions on the box.

Nevertheless, the sandwiches started melting and would stay true to the “square form” so my nephew and I threw in all the ingredients into a trifle dish to make an Fudge Oreo & Ice Cream sandwich trifle.

In addition to the Pinterest food, we also made buffalo chicken wings, phad thai, dumplings and Kelly’s buffalo chicken dip.

I picked up a bottle of Moodlight Meadery Kurt’s apple pie, alcohol made from fermented honey.  I tried it at a previous wine tasting and really liked it. The alcohol content is a bit steeper than wine and beer and it tastes just like apple pie.

Overall, it was a fun night and the Mo brought out the Johnny Walker Blue Label (not to be confused with the Dewar’s in the picture)

We had a big sleepover and made breakfast the next morning with waffles, English muffins, Kringle (courtesy of the Omnilite), western scrambled egg casserole, bacon, sausages, pepperoni and provolone croissant role ups and fresh cut strawberries.

 Dessert was cake for my brother’s 31st birthday.

New Cambodian Restaurant with buffet

With my mother living 2 hours away in CT, its not always the easiest to fulfill my cravings for authentic Cambodian food.  Although I do know how to make a handful of simple dishes, I leave the time consuming traditional dishes to others.

Sure, Cambodian sandwich shops and fast-food joint are opening up in town quicker than anyone can keep track of, but sometimes its nice to just have a small sample of everything instead of committing to just one or two dishes from places like Yummy Express in Lowell.

Growing up in the 90’s, my siblings and cousin used to take turns and help out at my uncle’s office on Westford Street doing basic filing and answering phone calls.  During lunch, we would walk across the street (then later next door) to Khemara restaurant where my uncle had a tab and we would eat the Cambodian lunch buffet.  It was a steal then at $4.95.  We filled our little tummies with rice, chicken and soup.

As a young adult, I still loved going to Khemara restaurant and would go with friends for the weekend brunch buffet that served Cambodian specialties such a “nom pa chok” rice vermicilli and a traditional fish lemongrass soup base or “bun xiow” more of a Vietnamese dish with pork and bean sprouts filling in a tumeric rice flour crepe.  I was sad to see it close a few years ago and have longed for a new Cambodian buffet since.

Viet-Thai in Lowell offers great Southeast Asian cuisine and authentic Vietnamese dishes and the Mo and I like to go whenever we get a chance.  The only downside is that is that the buffet is only served on weekdays so the Mo and I can only go when we have the day off from work.

After going to a small mom and pop’s Asian store, New Asia Market, I discovered that they had purchased the restaurant in the same building, the old Southeast Asian restaurant.  The Mo and I actually both worked there for years and I was sad to see it go through different ownership over the years.

The new restaurant, “New Asia Restaurant”  has a weekday lunch buffet was advertised in the store for  $7.50.  I asked the clerk what kind of food was offered and was thrilled to hear that it was mainly Cambodian.  The restaurant also serves a la carte Cambodian dishes in addition to Cambodian hot pot and grill. (Koh Leung Phnom..aka cow goes up the hill…aka butter beef pan)

The Mo and I decided to head there today for Christmas eve brunch.  The restaurant got a mini face lift and the moved the food stations in the main dining hall versus the previous set up.  The restaurant seemed brighter and a new flat screen TV was installed.  This is pretty typical in any Cambodian restaurants where karaoke or Asian soap operas are on display for the patrons during their meal.

We got there a little bit after 11:00 AM so they were still putting out a few dishes under the food warming lamp.  It was definitely a Cambodian buffet with traditional soups, stews, curried pork, pra hok dishes, etc.  A few dishes can fall into the general Southeast Asian category  such as eggrolls, wings, phad thai, fried rice and chicken sate.  There was also a variety of vegetarian dishes that included stir fry vegetables, steamed garlic and green beans and tofu.

Buffet Offerings View 1

Buffet offerings, view 2, before they added the other 2 dishes

Fresh Vegetables paired with pork curry and prahok, fresh garden rolls on the far right

The food at the buffet was presented very nicely and most importantly, everything looked clean.  Since the restaurant had been only opened for a month, there was only one other table that was there. The owner/waitress advised that it does get busy during the lunch rush with its close proximity to city hall and downtown Lowell.

The food was average and it did the trick to satisfy any craving for Cambodian food.  I was excited that they had one of my favorite soups, stuffed bitter melon with pork and vermicelli. It’s one of the many things my mom always made growing up in our household.  It’s sometimes hard not to be biased as one is always used to their own family’s recipes.

The curried pork was a bit spicy for me but the Mo enjoyed it.  The fresh rolls left a lot to be desired. I’m not a fan of ground meat in my fresh rolls and they had ground chicken, the texture didn’t go well.  The Phad thai was great and the wings were full of flavor.  It stayed crispy under the heating lamps and I was surprised that it didn’t turn into a soggy gross mess.

We were too stuffed for dessert but it looked like there was only one offering, tapioca in coconut milk.

We would probably be back again on a lazy day as the service was fast and friendly and the price was just right.

My only wish is if they served “Nom Pa Chok”, “Bun Xiow” or “Nom Crook” (Pureed rice and Scallion pockets with fish sauce)

For more pictures, visit their Facebook page. 

Casual Friends Soiree

We headed back to the Mo’s aunt house for a 2nd round of noodle soup for brunch.  Since the broth had an extra day to simmer, it was even better the 2nd time around (similar to spaghetti sauce tasting better the next day).

I signed up for a free trial at the new Best Fitness in Lowell since I was NOT going to drive all the way to Woburn on my days off just to work out.  They were kind enough to extend my free trial to the end of the year instead of the usual 7 days.  After some cardio and pumping some iron, I felt a little less guilty about the rest of my day.

Nat’s festive cookie jar and napkin holder (that I wanted to steal)

Between 2 PM and 5 PM, I happily “slaved” in the kitchen, prepping and cooking for a casual dinner get together with some great friends.  My friend Nat was kind to host and we all brought dishes to share among friends. Her house is more “kids friendly” aka no wild dogs running around clawing their newborns and eating people shoes, purses and brand new car keys.

Our gracious host brought out the Belvidere vodka, an assortment of fine wines (I’m used to drinking $4.00 brands) and allowed us to help ourselves around the kitchen and fridge. I think we’ve all become too comfortable… but that’s a different story.

For tonight’s soiree, I made a variety of appetizers and entrees.  A holiday party wouldn’t be tradition without my usual goat cheese spinach stuffing but since I forgot to pick up goat cheese, so I made a seafood & spinach stuffed mushrooms instead.

(Raw Mushrooms ready for baking)

I hate to admit, but I have to give credit when credit is due, I also made Marcia’s recipe for sweet and sour meatballs.  It’s someone I work with that makes it for all our work “pot luck” events. She usually makes it with turkey meatballs. The recipe is so easy, meatballs + grape jelly + chili sauce and set it in the slow cooker and forget it.

I vamped it up a little bit and added sweet Italian sausages and jalapeno peppers to give it a little kick.

Another staple of mines, is fried chicken wings, any style. For tonight’s gathering, I made combination of habanero mango and “Asian Zing” using sauces from Buffalo Wild Wings.  Wings are always are hit at any party and they are cheap and easy to make and everyone loves wings!

No holiday dinner is complete without stuffing. I prepared an “out of the box” Stove top stuffing and added sausages, raisins, vegetables and topped it with fried onion bits and shredded cheddar cheese.

 I made a chicken parmasean baked ziti that I left in the broiler for a few minutes too long since I was too busy taking shots and what not, I was a bit disappointed in the outcome. It was a bit dry and a little burnt.

Everyone loves eggrolls and my friend Nat prepped some delicious eggrolls. I’m pretty particular about my eggrolls as people tend to skimp out on the filling but hers were perfect.

Most of the pictures were taken at the beginning of the night and I forgot to pull out my camera for the rest of the dishes that everyone brought.

Our friend Nang ordered 3 quarts of Legal Seafood’s delicious clam chowder that was served with oyster crackers.  This was a hit! He wanted to do something different and he definitely succeeded! I don’t think I’ve ever been to any gathering that served Legal’s chowder, if only I got invited to presidential inaugurations then that would be a different story.

Thien and Lemar served my favorite spinach salad with goat cheese (my absolute favorite) and walnuts tossed with a raspberry vinaigrette.  Funny story, Lemar sent Thien into the grocery store and advised him on the ingredients she needed for the salad and Thien took it upon himself to pick up croutons and bacon bits for the salad. Needless to say, those ingredients were set aside and served “a la carte” for those who wanted it.   

Syn picked up mouth watering roasted pork from China Star and everyone feasted on that delectable goodness.  This dish always goes pretty fast.  Its so simple but so very satisfying.

For dessert, Sophea aka Fifi intended on grabbing a wonderful cake from H-mart but with the shit-show traffic on that road, it was impossible. Her mom made a delicious Cambodian coconut jelly dessert with tropical fruits and jelly.

I also ordered chocolate covered berries from Shari’s berries using a groupon/living social special.  It was originally intended for my sister for our family holiday gathering but since it was postponed another week, the berries wouldn’t last that long.  It was a dozen of their gourmet, Hand dipped cocktail strawberries  (Champagne, amaretto and rum flavored)

It was a great night, we shared drinks, lots of laughter, I tricked a parent into letting me hold their baby (buzzed…. not DRUNK.. haha) and I learned that Burma was an actual country and not part of Indonesia (yes… I’m pretty ignorant these days)..

I came home and found Kashi instant oatmeal in my purse… not sure why/how… but I’m sure there is a story behind that!

Mami’s Semi Homemade Pizza

My friend Nat and Melissa makes awesome homemade pizza so I was inspired to make my own “semi” home made version.  I say “semi” home-made because I didn’t make the dough or crust from scratch.

We are huge fans of the Market Basket frozen supreme pizza and that is a staple in our household.  Recently the price seems to keep going up.  Before it was 3/$10.00 and now its a big deal if its 3/$11.00.  I guess you can say everything is going up but I believe Market Basket’s prices are still competitive.

I bought a premade pizza crust that was 2.99 and had a 2.00 coupon and ended up paying only 1.00 at Market Basket.  I also bough the premade garlic Naan indian bread for an additional crust.  Originally, I wanted to grill the pizza but the Mo went golfing and it was too dark out for me to experiment the grilled pizza since it was beyond 8 o clock and I had a few glasses of wine in me.

Pizza 1
Store bought crust
Hunts Spaghetti Sauce
Red Onion
Jalapeno
Spicy Sausage, cooked and slice
Store bought sliced pepperoni
Shredded Mozzarella cheese
Sliced Yellow and Orange Bell Peppers

Pizza 2 and 3
Naan Garlic bread

Hunts Spaghetti Sauce
Grilled chicken
canned corn kernels, drained
Grape Tomatos
Feta Cheese (I got the flavored tomato and basil)
Fresh minced garlic
Fresh Mozzarella, sliced


The difference between pizza 2 and 3 is that 3 has jalapenos

** I add a packet of splenda in the tomato sauce for an extra sweetness similiar to Espresso’s Pizza sauce in Lowell. That is our favorite pizza shop in the area as they are known for their special sauce.

You really don’t have to get the fresh mozzarella or the fresh feta cheese. I just really like the creaminess of the fresh mozzarella.  The feta cheese adds a bit of texture and saltiness to the pizza that adds a nice contrasts with the sweet corn.

Feta cheese, Shredded Mozzarella and Fresh Mozzarella

 Pizza 1
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Place premade crust on pizza pan and generally pour sauce to cover crust. Try to get as close to the edge as possible.

Sprinkle mozzarella cheese and add preferred toppings generously.

 After 12 minutes, remove pizza from oven and let it cool for 2 minutes. Slice pizza and serve with crushed red peppers and fresh parm.

Pizza 2 & 3
Place both naan breads on a pizza dish.  The naan bread is available in a few different varieties including plain, garlic and wheat.

Add Sauce and fresh mozzarella cheese and load it up with your favorite toppings or my suggested toppings.

Since the crust is thinner than the store bought pizza crust, check on the naan pizzas in 8 minutes.  I like to broil it on medium for 2 additional minutes to give it a nice crisp.

Enjoy!

You can’t have pizza without wings! So I served then with my favorite BBQ wings.

Seasoned with Sazon seasoning

Tossed in a honey bbq sauce and served with blue cheese.

Market’s Kitchen is finally open at Market Basket in Chelmsford!

It’s no secret that Market Basket in Chelmsford has been undergoing a major face lift since the big competition, Stop & Shop opened across the street where the old cinema used to be over a decade ago.  Stop & Shop, the largest New England food retailer finally won the battle after many years of numerous blockages and had its grand opening just in time before a major holiday season, Thanksgiving of 2011.

Today, Market Basket opened up its Market’s Kitchen in the Chelsmford store.  Many of you may already be familiar with it since its already featured in the Tewksbury.  Market’s Kitchen is comparable to the hot foods sections of many other competitors such as Stop and Shop and Wholefoods Market (on the luxury end).

Customers can browse and pick and choose different things to make up their meal.  The choices are endless at the new Market’s Kitchen in Chelmsford.  There is a made to order deli station, pizza station, sushi station in additional to the fresh hot fried foods like egg rolls, chicken wings and onion rings.  The beauty is that the set up is very convenient and affordable.  Unlike placing an order at a sub shop, we don’t have to order a “Small Onion Rings” or “Large Chicken Wings”, we can just pick and choose how many we want which costs less money in addition to reducing food wastage.

Market Basket Hot Foods Section

The Mo and I are huge fans since we never really know what we want to eat until we see something that catches our eye.  Sometimes I am in the mood for sushi and he’s in the mood for something else.  Usually he ends up getting the made to order grilled Cuban sandwich with extra hots whereas I like to try different things.

The new bakery stood out with their colorful displays of cakes, Italian cookies, pastries, and cupcakes.  The featured cakes were not your typical “grocery store cakes” but more artsy and whimsical.  They looked more modern and definitely caught my eye along with other customers who were already placing cake orders.  The pastries itself were a big ticket item.  I usually don’t see the bakery department busy compared to the deli department on a Sunday but today there were people asking for rum log rolls and cannoli’s. I coudn’t resist and picked up a few things myself. A mini cheesecake, espresso cake and a fruit tart only set me back $6.97.

My order

Although there is no salad bar, there’s a decent variety of premade salads in the refrigerator section where you can also pick up premade side dishes that can be reheated at home.  Across the refrigerator is the hot rotisserie chicken with small and large chicken and premade subs.

Rotisserie Chicken

Premade salads

Update** 

The Mo and I grabbed a quick dinner there this week, and this is what we got for $ 9.00 + tax

Cubano Classico Grilled

Large Slice of Sicilian cheese pizza

Spanikitopia Twist

Wild over "Wings Over Buffalo"

After a smooth check in and going through airport security, the Mo and I worked up an appetite and decided to grab an early lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings. We shared wings, cheeseburger sliders and each got a beer. To my surprise, the total was $57.00!

Sliders, Wedges & Wings at JFK

I have to admit that food was absolutely delicious! The mango haberno wings had the perfect amount of sweet and tang with a nice added kick! I will definitely try to imitate the recipe at home or buy their bottled sauces. The Caribbean Jerk Wings were tasty and not dry. The patties in the cheeseburger sliders were thick and juicy, they didn’t skimp out on the meat at all!

Its Finally Here! – Wings Over Lowell

Ranking REALLY close to eggrolls, chicken wings are among my favorite guilty pleasures. If I’m not bringing eggrolls to a party, I’m likely to to bring a combination of BBQ, Buffalo and Naked wings to accommodate all tastes.  They are easy to make and everyone loves them… well for the most part,  I’ve actually met some people that do not eat meat off bones (Ribs, wings, etc).

At almost every single family gathering, we buy chicken wings by the case to feed the whole army.  If I’m not making the wings myself, I’m always on the lookout for deals or new flavors that I can try.

Needless to say, I was very EXCITED to hear about the new Wings Over Lowell opening during Folk Festival weekend in Downtown Lowell.

Neon “Wings” Decor

After much anticipation, the Mo and I finally made our way to Downtown Lowell to sample the menu.  After what seemed like many minutes of viewing the menu displayed on the LCD screens and letting other customers go before us, we finally made up our minds and placed our order.

We got the F-16 (15 Wings), Cajun Waffle Fries with Cheese, and a 2 Liter of Diet Coke which came to about $19.00.  There were just too many flavors to try and they allow 1 flavor for every 5 pieces of wings. Since the Mo loves hot spice, he insisted on the “After Burner” and we also tried the Spicy Teryaki and Golden BBQ.

F-16 (15 Pcs, 3 Flavors)

 Although the wings were meaty and the textures were right on, the flavors were not that impressive. The Mo complained that the “After Burners” were not hot enough and seemed like it was just dressed in the same Huy Fong Chili Garlic Sauce we use at home. Since my tolerance of chili is not where his is, I took his word for it.

The Spicy Teryaki didn’t resemble any teryaki sauces that I was used to and the Golden BBQ flavor was a bit too tangy for me. Maybe next time I will try the Honey BBQ instead.

Cajun Blacked Waffle Fries with Cheese

I must admit that they Waffle Fries were amazing! They were fried to perfection and had the right amount of Cajun seasoning! For the optional seasoning, you can choose from Ranch, Cajun, Mesquite, Seven Pepper and Garlic Parmesan. The melted cheese dip ($1.00 extra) was a great compliment to the fries and we didn’t even require any ketchup!

They looked pretty busy, after all it was a Friday night.  As we sat and ate our meal, I noticed that the establishment was very popular with takeout orders with the phone constantly ringing and people walking in to pick up their orders.   The delivery service seems to be popular also, I noticed they had at least 2 drivers running in and out and they also had a sign posted for more drivers wanted.

With its late hours and nearby proximity to the Umass Lowell Dorms/Conference center, Middlesex Community College and Lowell High School, I truly believe this franchise will be a success!

Note: Parking in Downtown Lowell can be tricky and its usually a hit or miss.  Obviously this will be not a problem for students or Downtown Lowell employees. Dedicated goers can shell out a few bucks and park at the Leo Roy Parking Garage, literally 2 minutes down the street.

If you haven’t already hit up “Wings Over Lowell”, what are you waiting for?

Wings Over Lowell, MA  26A Market Street Lowell, MA 01852    Phone: (978) 441-9464

Location Hours: (Hours Subject to change)

Mon/Tue:   04:00 pm – 01:00 am and Wed-Sun:: 11:00 am – 01:00 am
Here are some of my favorite wings in Lowell and surrounding areas

Best Chinese Style Wings: Wah Sang
Best Wings to eat with Papaya Salad: Viet Thai
Favorite Flavor: Spicy Thai Peanut at Pizza Hazel
Best Wing Deal:  25 cents wing specials on Sundays and Mondays at Garcia Brogan’s
Best Boneless Wings: Garlic Parmesan at Pizza Hut/Wings Street
Hottest Wings: Crazy “88”, Wings of Fire coated in Ghost Pepper Bistro 44, Bedford, Ma
I’m not sure if they still do it, but there was a Waiver Wing Challenge where you had to sign a waiver and eat a certain amount of wings in under 30 minutes. Many tried and many failed. 

Worst Wings Dominos Pizza
Sorry Dominos, you were able to revamp your pizza with the garlic crust, but your wings are still sub par. They are usually soggy and smothered in a thick sauce. That just doesn’t do anything for me.

China Buffet
Just Gross


Where is your favorite place to go for wings?

Phad Thai, Eggrolls, Noodles Galore!

Southeast Asian Cooking

Although I was born in the states, being born of Cambodian decent, I’m pretty much required to know how to cook the typical staples of Southeast Asian Cusines. Here are a few of my common dishes that I like to make

Beef Loc Lac

“Mee Ka Thung” Fried Wide Noodles

Hoisen Braised Pork Spare Ribs

Banh Hoi w/ Eggrolls, Shrimp and Pork

Calamari and Fried Jalapenos

Spicy Cilantro Chili Chicken Wings

“Mee Cha” Fried Noodles with Shrimp

Fried Salt and Pepper Shrimp with Head

Fried Spicy Shrimp with sweet chili

“Lhort Cha” with Sunny Side Up Egg

Beef and Seafood Noodle Soup

Lemon Grass & Kaffir”Krueng” Chicken

Shrimp and Pork  “Garden roll”, “Summer Roll” “Naim Chow” “Goi Cuon”, “Spring Roll” So many names for this well known dish.