Caviar, Oysters, Pizza & Pasta

My sister, Trang, spoiled me BIG time this Christmas.  She had me as her Secret Santa and got me some paddlefish caviar and truffle butter (among other kitchen goodies) from the The Seattle Caviar Company.

With such tasty gifts, I thought we should have a night in and cook some tasty dishes for family.  With such fancy gifts we needed to some fancy starters - Quail Eggs w/Paddlefish Caviar and Pan Fried Oysters topped w/Paddlefish Caviar.  

Quail Eggs with Paddlefish Caviar

This is such a simple appetizer!  It also goes so nicely with some champagne or white sparkling wine.  All you need are the following item:

10 fresh quail eggs
Paddle fish caviar
1 bunch of fresh chives chopped

Boil the quail eggs for 3-5 minutes.  Remove egg shells. Cut eggs in half.  Spoon just a little bit of caviar on each egg half and sprinkle with chives.  Wah la!

The pan fried oysters was also a nice appetizer to go along with the quail eggs.  This appetizer was also very simple to make. I just used some cornbread crumbs my mom had in her pantry and coated the oysters with them.  I pan fried it with some olive oil and topped the finish product with a touch of the Paddlefish Caviar and chopped chives.

CJ and Trang made some of their homemade thin-crust pizza for us.  BTW - thin crust is my favorite!  Pizza is surprisingly not very complicated to make.  I may attempt to make some at home myself now that we have a Kitchen Aid Mixer.  Here is CJ rolling out his dough.

And now the finished goods!  Pepperoni with mushrooms and olives.

And for you bacon lovers - Bacon Pizza!

Oh yes...and for the finale I made Ina Garten's Truffle Butter Linguine (click for the recipe).

This was such a rich and delicious recipe!  Truffle butter is a great alternative for the actual truffle.  It's also much more potent in flavor than truffle oil.  I am glad that this dish came at the end.  There was just enough for this to be served on tasting plates.  For dessert, Cuong and Julia brought over some creme brulee.  It wasn't homemade but did the job nicely!

I had so much fun cooking and spending time with my family.  It was a wonderful night in at the Pham's!

Tomato Pasta Salad

Ingredients
1/2 cup oil-packed sun dried tomatoes, drained
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons oil, from sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 cup olive oil
1 lb bow-tie pasta
1 bunch of fresh asparagus (sometimes I will substitute zucchini if asparagus is out of season or add some extra greens in there)
8 oz cherry tomatoes
8 oz yellow pear tomatoes
1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
salt and pepper
fresh basil leaves, to garnish

Combine sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and oils in food processor.  Process until all ingredients are combined.  Cook pasta in a large pan of boiling, salted water until just tender.  Plunge the asparagus spears into a bowl of boiling water for 2 minutes until vibrant green.  Drain and then plunge asparagus in cold water.  Cut into 1 inch pieces.  Cut cherry tomatoes and pear tomatoes in half, lengthwise.  Assemble salad while the pasta is still warm: combine the pasta, tomatoes, asparagus and parsley in a large serving bowl; mix in tomato dressing.  Add salt and pepper, to taste.  Garnish with basil leaves and enjoy!

*For a gluten-free option, use corn pasta instead of wheat pasta.  Can be found at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods.

First Thanksgiving Away from Home...

Thanksgiving is a HUGE deal in the Pham Family.  It is a holiday that has traditionally been hosted by my family for many years and each year we have about 30+ guests at my parents' home.  This was the first year I spent it away from Portland.  I was extremely bummed about the thought of it and kept trying to secretly plan a mini getaway (that we could drive to of course).  I was in complete denial.  But after all my brainstorming and wishful thinking, in the end we decided to spend Thanksgiving with our friends here in Santa Barbara. I am happy to say we had an amazing time!

THANKSGIVING MENU

Starters & Salads
- Crab Wontons
- Kale & Brussels Sprout Salad
- Tomato Pasta Salad
- Homemade Rolls

Main Entrees
- Turkey
- Beer Ham

Sides
- Gluten-Free Mac n' Cheese
- Cheesy Potatoes
- Green Bean Casserole
- Sweet Potato Casserole

Desserts
- Banana Cream Pie
- Pecan Bourbon Pie
- Pumpkin Pie

Yes...the menu was quite extensive for a party of only 8 people.  Our Santa Barbara Thanksgiving was held at Brian and Michelle's place.  They are the sweetest couple you will find, both to their friends and seriously to each other!  The late lunch/early dinner feast was done pot-luck style.  B & M were in charge of the main entrees - Turkey and Ham along with some sides and a pie.

Michelle's ham was so delicious.  The recipe belongs to her mother and all I know is that the darn ham took 3 days of marinating in beer. I was never a huge fan of this cut of pork but this recipe seriously turned me onto ham.

All other guests either brought sides or desserts.  I signed up for more than I could handle for side dishes.  Luckily, Dao (sis-in-law) drove up from LA to spend the long holiday weekend with me and the husband.  She was also my right hand gal in the kitchen!  I could not have done it without her.  We started off prepping crab wontons.  One of our friends at the feast was gluten-free.  Of  course I love a kitchen challenge and hate leaving people out,  so I made gluten free mac n' cheese.  I also contributed my Phamous (among the Pham's) sun-dried tomato basil bow-tie pasta salad (recipe in next posting).  I also made a gluten version by using corn pasta from Trader Joe's.

I knew there would be many rich dishes so I made a kale and brussels salad recipe I found from bon appetit magazine.  So fresh and simple!

We had sooooooooo much food!

After dinner we immediately fell into deep food comas.  We napped, snacked, watched a movie and went home bellies full with tons of left-overs in hand!