tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-108649932008-07-24T09:52:20.721-07:00Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12326111001085784932noreply@blogger.comBlogger319125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10864993.post-36601979949666775892008-02-05T22:02:00.000-08:002008-02-05T22:38:56.162-08:00

I know, I know, how many pork roasts can I make before I start turning into Wilbur... I find myself cooking with pork a lot because it's a tad meatier than chicken and a whole lot easier to cook correctly than beef. It is as versatile as fish and a whole lot cheaper. It also keeps in the fridge much better than seafood - all the reasons for a busy girl like me to keep cooking with it for

Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12326111001085784932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10864993.post-13365623281462004552008-01-31T08:27:00.000-08:002008-01-31T08:40:30.293-08:00

This is not really a roast. Actually, it's not a roast at all, but it's another pork recipe that can be adopted to be a roast recipe. I made it with bone-in pork chops, and it literally took me 10 minutes to have dinner on the table. It was so good that 10 min later, it was gone. 1. Cut a hole in the pork chop. This is to stuff some goods inside in the subsequent steps. 2. Mix applesauce and

Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12326111001085784932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10864993.post-12581099923891792008-01-27T09:27:00.000-08:002008-01-27T10:22:34.841-08:00

Because I have had little motivation to go out to eat lately for caloric and economical reasons, I've been hosting a number of dinner get-togethers. Luckily, my friends have not complained having to eat at Izakaya Alice (yet), but I try to limit repeating menu items as often as possible. Besides our now standard Sushi Party, I've thrown traditional roast-poultry American, Americanized-Italian

Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12326111001085784932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10864993.post-68523102359269008102008-01-24T19:52:00.000-08:002008-01-24T20:47:54.631-08:00

I love the pork tenderloins they sell at Trader Joe's. The ones that are tubular in shape? They make great roasts that take about two seconds to prep and are great for a busy weeknight dinner. I dress the pork, throw it in the oven, go do something else for 15 min or so, come back to whip up a salad, microwave some more veggies, and voila! Dinner is served! I have several different versions

Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12326111001085784932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10864993.post-30660381940870520532008-01-23T22:37:00.000-08:002008-01-24T13:00:10.583-08:00

One of my most useful skills is my ability to recycle left-overs. I can take left-overs and odds and ends in the fridge & cupboard and feed myself for up to 2 weeks. There was a time when I was just too busy/tired to go shopping and I managed to feed 2 adults (and 2 kids for 2+ meals) literally for 2 weeks. I haven't topped that one yet, but in general, I can create a totally satisfying meal

Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12326111001085784932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10864993.post-84810849987949011732008-01-22T18:52:00.000-08:002008-01-22T19:18:31.918-08:00

Weekend breakfasts were always a treat I looked forward to in college and grad school. In fact, it was often the highlight of the weekend. Mo's Diner in Hartford, Eggs N' Things in Honolulu, and Elmo's Diner and Mama Dip's Kitchen in Chapel Hill - just seeing the names of these places bring a smile to my face. Standing in line for sometimes hours at a time, the wait was part of the fun too.

Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12326111001085784932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10864993.post-217074066099643952008-01-21T23:46:00.000-08:002008-01-21T23:58:03.457-08:00

OK, OK, so the title was a really bad play on words... I am a big fan of making sauces of all sorts. It is actually what I love the most about cooking - mixing different ingredients to see what comes out at the end. I match different textures, flavors, and scents, while imagining what the sauce will do to the saucee - the saucee being the object of affection with which the sauce will be

Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12326111001085784932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10864993.post-62555994441853375662008-01-21T14:34:00.000-08:002008-01-21T14:43:15.564-08:00

I am coming out of retirement! I have been wondering what to do with MED, even considering deleting it all together. I just haven't been eating out very much, which left me without anything to write about here. But recently, some of my friends and I decided to learn a new dish a month to cook at home - what perfect way to ressurect MED! I will log what we all make and associated recipes!

Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12326111001085784932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10864993.post-7236041507842539792007-07-08T22:04:00.000-07:002007-07-08T22:18:03.833-07:00

Last night, Izakaya Alice was in full swing!! On the menu earlier was a Smoked Turkey, two Nappa Cabbage salads, and the wakame salad. We also served some Five-Grain rice. This was just an ordinary dinner menu, though. It wasn't Izakaya Alice... ...until 12 AM! Izakaya Alice opened up shop as a Ramen Joint! I made some shoyu (soy sauce) ramen and shio (salt) ramen using the same recipe as

Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12326111001085784932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10864993.post-63345379640160332822007-07-06T10:12:00.000-07:002008-01-24T18:44:00.017-08:00

I know, I know - Just after I said that I was going to blog more, I disappeared... I have a whole lot of things to write about, including all the recipes we have tested at Izakaya Alice, but I have to find a good spot to blog in my new house. I just don't have the right set-up yet, but I think the Papa Bear will finally finish cleaning the Hobby Room, where I put my big crafting table. Since

Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12326111001085784932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10864993.post-63475324318362208292007-05-29T23:13:00.000-07:002007-05-29T23:18:07.615-07:00

Hmmm, tonight's Izakaya Alice menu didn't fare too well... Any hints as to why? Maybe the sauce just was too heavy? Baked Sockeye Salmon with Mustard Dill Sauce: 1. Mix 1/4 cup mustard (Dijon), lots of dried dill, dash of curry powder and ponzu. 2. Slather mustard mixture on 1 lbs sockeye salmon. 3. Bake. Yah, it was easy to prepare in the typical Izakaya Alice way, but it just didn't get

Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12326111001085784932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10864993.post-44502272214699694552007-05-28T20:59:00.000-07:002007-05-28T21:14:04.019-07:00

This entire holiday weekend, we've sort of been off-schedule at the Bear Family household. The Papa Bear doesn't get up before 10 AM unless prodded, and the Baby Bear has been catching up on her celebrity gossip in the morning hours while the Papa Bear is sleeping away. The problem with starting the day late is that our hunger level is off-schedule... For example, we had a huuuuuuge

Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12326111001085784932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10864993.post-38109556169177816342007-05-23T23:57:00.000-07:002007-05-28T21:14:35.714-07:00

I didn't get to describe in detail some of the deliciousness I experienced recently at Koo (San Francisco) with The Gourmand and Yamo, but there were three dishes in particular that I was really excited about. These three dishes, I have since then replicated at home with moderate success. Today's post is just a quick recipe post: Koo-inspired artichokes... 1. Fill pressure cooker with 1 cup

Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12326111001085784932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10864993.post-17333846425897157612007-05-03T21:53:00.000-07:002007-05-28T21:15:14.161-07:00

I love noodles. I can easily live without another grain of rice in my life, but if I were to swear off noodles, I'd be in some serious dietary stress. Just to give you an example of my noodle-y obsession, I had at least one noodle meal for six out of the seven days for the past week: Friday: Pho at Beef Noodle #1, San Jose. Saturday: Stir-fried noodles at a mediocre Vietnamese restaurant.

Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12326111001085784932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10864993.post-81675700342044513582007-04-30T17:57:00.000-07:002007-04-30T18:15:30.340-07:00

Last night, I was at a very posh restaurant with my aunt and uncle, both visiting from Japan. This restaurant had won praises from many newspaper food critics, bloggers, food-lovers, etc, and being the last of the Trinity of Bay Area Tasting Menus, I was really looking forward to a good meal. ... Our tasting menu was just OK. It was actually several steps below the Dining Room at the Ritz and

Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12326111001085784932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10864993.post-83391842653838145892007-04-29T09:01:00.000-07:002007-04-29T09:27:11.258-07:00

I really have been insanely busy these past few months, I forgot that I had a blog! :P With a new job, a new house, and a new commitment to healthful living, I feel so much better about life in general. And you know what? I find myself eating out less and less. Those places I used to drive close to an hour to get to for dinner? I live only about 15 min from them now, but I cook at home most

Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12326111001085784932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10864993.post-14002922667693083512007-03-05T09:55:00.000-08:002007-03-05T10:38:33.472-08:00

A very famous chef once said if it's not "cooked", as if it hasn't met heat, it's not "cooking", it's not acceptable to him. Hmph. I...kinda...liked this guy, and rather...admired this guy for his talents and really bringing NY dining scene into something more than a slice of Junior's Cheesecake. So I raise the question: Do we really have to "cook" the food to bring it's qualities to it's

Uchipuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03105983738593858488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10864993.post-36292828073807528932007-01-31T22:01:00.000-08:002008-01-27T10:24:20.544-08:00

When I was a child growing up in Japan, Iron Chef was one of my absolute favorite shows along side the cartoons. It aired late at night and it was something of an special occassion to stay up late and watch it. I didn't always get to watch it, despite my frequent requests - it was past my bed time. Imagine my shock when I saw the familiar faces of my childhood on TV close to a decade later!

Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12326111001085784932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10864993.post-89355256039828567612007-01-30T22:26:00.000-08:002007-01-30T22:39:45.725-08:00

No time today, but hopefully more tomorrow...

Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12326111001085784932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10864993.post-1168635837116119902007-01-12T12:07:00.000-08:002007-01-12T13:03:57.810-08:00

Hi there. I noticed this blog has been neglected by Alice. I know she's cooking up a report of our recent New Year's Eve Extravaganza, though. I read in this week's NY Times about something rather...well...interesting. Starbucks vs McDonalds. Yep. I don't do either, but it brought back an episode off Oishinbo. That super culinary manga my sister and I both enjoy. In one of the episodes,

Uchipuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03105983738593858488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10864993.post-1167369193656582402006-12-28T20:17:00.000-08:002008-01-24T20:52:42.040-08:00

After my initial post , I've become rather smitten with Sumika - so much that I am giving it the MED Restaurant of the Year title. Sumika has a smaller menu compared to many of the other Japanese eateries in the area, but what they do, they do well. From the chicken skewers to the mizutaki (chicken hot pot), everything is prepared with careful attention to detail. The skewers continue to be

Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12326111001085784932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10864993.post-1162661886912638672006-11-04T09:18:00.000-08:002008-01-22T19:17:44.274-08:00

I found this very interesting article via a link from a fellow Japanese blogger's site. Apparently, the Japanese government is going to provide a set of guidelines to restaurants all over the world to regulate what Japanese food ought to be like. If a restaurant meets these guidelines, they will receive a stamp of approval. Those restaurants that don't meet the criteria...well, they will not

Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12326111001085784932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10864993.post-1160706353734100202006-10-12T19:03:00.000-07:002008-01-24T20:53:10.348-08:00

I have a friend of a friend who is a serious gourmet. I mean, this guy is serious! I think he eats out every night for dinner. Luckily for me, I get to sneak in and read his blog from time to time to get the latest scoop on what's yummy in the Japanese food scene in the South Bay! So, when he posted that a new yakitori shop (not Sumiya) just opened and that it was rather delicious, I had to

Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12326111001085784932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10864993.post-1158516499687289752006-09-17T10:45:00.000-07:002008-01-24T20:53:33.942-08:00

With the recent departure of Chef Takahashi-san from Anzu, I am feeling a little lost as to where to get my upscale sushi fix these days... I want the best diversity, best quality, and best sake selection. I am particularly difficult to please, since I am a delicate-and sweet-fish-sushi lover, and most Bay Area joints specialize on serving fat on rice and calling it good sushi. I had a

Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12326111001085784932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10864993.post-1156628336175174292006-08-26T14:37:00.000-07:002006-08-26T14:38:56.200-07:00

I can't find the cord to transfer my photos from my camera to my laptop! Eeek! See how long it's been since I updated my blog???? I have had such little time in the last few months, it's crazy. Sigh.

Alicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12326111001085784932noreply@blogger.com