Cookbook Giveaway: "Cake Pops" by Bakerella

As mentioned yesterday my latest cookbook giveaway is for Bakerella's dessert decorating book Cake Pops. Bakerella was at Book Expo this year signing at the Chronicle Books booth in honor of her latest Cake Pops cookbooks. This one is the original that started it all and was a hot ticket item, as cookbooks, especially dessert ones, often are.

Like my other giveaways this will run for two weeks starting September 18th 12:01am (EST) and ending on October 1st 12:01am (EST). You can enter by leaving a comment and liking Bakerella on Facebook or following Bakerella/Chronicle Books on Twitter and noting this in Rafflecopter below. The winner will be announced on October 1st.

Entries are limited to those who reside in the United States and Canada.

Feel free to spread the word about this giveaway. :-)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy Baking!

Winner "Easy Chinese Recipes" Giveway & New Cookbook Giveaway!

Thanks to everyone who 'liked' pages and visited my site and are fans of Rasa Malaysia's site. I'm happy to announce the winner of a copy of Easy Chinese Recipes deemed by Rafflecopter is.... Carmen Nuland.

Congrats, Carmen! I'll email you for your address and will make sure to put the book in the mail via USPS ASAP. Thanks again to Bee for spreading the word and Tuttle Publishing for aiding in this giveaway. And if you didn't win many of these great recipes can be found on rasamalysia.com so you can see how awesome they are for yourself. And I have another cookbook giveaway!

So the deal is that this giveaway officially starts tomorrow at 12:01am (EST) and will end on October 1st 12:01 am (EST). I'll post the Rafflecopter link for entries in a post tomorrow AM.

Happy cooking!

Rasa Malaysia's "Easy Chinese Recipes" & Cookbook Giveaway!

Being from an urban environment and because of the availability of hole-in-the-wall Chinese takeout stores I have always had a place in my heart for Chinese food. Chicken and broccoli as well as lo mein were staples for me. I never understood why some went straight for chicken wings and fries when you could get that anywhere. For me Chinese takeout meant something I couldn't get at home. Upon expanding my horizons and getting to know friends of East Asian descent and knowing that what we got in the takeout stores didn't resemble the actual traditions, I was interested in having the more authentic brand. But, I was pretty fearful of the process and technique involved in making an East Asian dish outside of one I defrosted.

So hearing the words: Easy. Chinese. Recipes. And knowing Bee Yinn Low (via her website Rasa Malaysia) wrote a cookbook of Chinese cuisine (published by Tuttle Publishing), I was intrigued.

I sat down, I mean really sat down, with Easy Chinese Recipes and didn't just skim it but read the details of what captures flavors I have enjoyed since I was a child--noting that Bee also mentions the difference between the takeout Americans are used to and the more realistic aspects of Chinese cuisine--as well as many of the 'How to's to make dishes similar to the way I'm used to with the right tools, sauces, and preparation.

First off, sauces are not meant to be thick like gravy and dishes aren't doused in them as I am used to. Also there are a handful of key condiments used in these dishes. I knew soy sauce was one but had no idea that oyster sauce was the other or that baking soda was used to aid in the tenderizing of meats when cooking.

I chose recipes that I could make a comparison against, ones that I have had in Asian restaurants/takeout/frozen, so that I had a basis for what I expected the taste to be for the dishes I made.

The Dishes

Beef and Broccoli

Even Bee notes that beef and broccoli is one of the most popular dishes in American takeout stores.

I didn't tenderize the meat (Bee has a section on how to do so with beef, pork, and poultry as well as making shrimp bouncy) for this dish and went all in with cutting flank steak against the grain and marinating (15 minutes). Then I prepped the broccoli, made the sauce and instant rice on the side rather than steamed long grain rice.

Using a large non-stick wok I prepped the beef, blanched the broccoli, added ginger to the oil, returned beef for final cooking, adding broccoli and sauce and voila I had my very own beef and broccoli! The sauce was a mixture of soy sauce, oyster sauce, toasted sesame oil, white pepper, sugar, corn starch, and water and really brought me back to the flavors I have eaten over the years from takeout.

I may have over cooked the beef though. Tenderizing the flank steak may have gotten that smoother texture I'm used to. The main difference between what the frozen P.F. Chang's and the takeout place down the hill and this recipe is the lighter aspect of the sauce as well as the rougher texture I got from the meat. However, if I had had dishes side by side and the meat had been perfect I would've chosen what I made.

Cashew Chicken (sans cashews)

I made this after work as well. And I chose to take Bee's advice and tenderize the chicken before marinating it and making the dish. The additional sides to this are cut up peppers (red and green, but I used red and yellow) and roasted cashews (which I took out since I'm having orthodontic work done), in addition to the sauce. Ginger is prevalent in many of the recipes so make sure to have a bunch of it ready and minced, same goes for garlic.

After tenderizing the meat (letting chicken sit in baking soda and then thoroughly washing before marinating) I half cooked it, added the minced ginger, and then the peppers and re-added the chicken. The sauce was light as well but clings and adds a great flavor (hooray for oyster/soy sauce mix!)

I am IN LOVE with this dish. The chicken was so tender even the next day after nuking it and several days later eating remaining leftovers. The peppers melted in my mouth and all the flavors were amazing! I know one of the best things about Chinese food is texture and if you get that right then everything falls into place. And this one knocked anything I've had in takeout/restaurants out of the park! So I'll be making this again and again and again.

Classic Shrimp Fried Rice

I didn't follow the steps to make the shrimp bouncy in this instance. I had made the rice the night before as Bee suggested and went with brown long grain rice which has a grainier texture than white long-stemmed rice/jasmine.

The seasoning/dressing for this is quite light mainly soy and fish sauce with sesame oil (another new love of mine) and white pepper.

As with all the other recipes I tried you partially cook the protein, in this case you have two proteins with scrambled eggs and shrimp. Cook the eggs first then partially cook the shrimp, take those out and add garlic & ginger, return the shrimp with frozen peas and carrots, cook for a bit then add rice, eggs, and seasoning and mix well.

Again: enjoyable. This is best eaten soon after making, not when it's piping hot but still very warm. The shrimp and peas and carrots and egg and seasoning were great with the rice and a nice meal in itself. And what I noticed was that the seasoning was, again, not heavy. I was worried the flavors wouldn't be there. "Less is more" pervaded in all of Bee's recipes, particularly this one. The flavors melded and each one worked together and was not too salty as the takeout you'll  get nor was it greasy. I used low sodium soy sauce for all recipes but I think even without it the fact that you're adding light touches really does let the umami flavor break through on the fried rice. Again, I prefer Bee's recipe over takeout/restaurant/frozen foods that I've had of this variety.

Vegetables with Oyster Sauce

In Easy Chinese Recipes this is listed as Chinese broccoli (gailan) with oyster sauce. But since I did not like the gailan I found I went with another favorite, bok choy, and figured I'd see how this worked. I followed all the same steps of blanching the bok choy and cooking the sauce (again oyster and soy) and sprinkled this atop the vegetables. Man, oh man was this great! The sauce is not thick, more watery and you may want to add more bok choy than I did to make sure the vegetable isn't swimming in the sauce. Again, not too salty but with a familiar flavor that compliments the Classic Shrimp Fried Rice I ate it with and the Cashew Chicken I had it with the day after. I love bok choy for it's watery flavor and crispy texture. It reminds me of fennel but less intense in taste and for anyone who has had bok choy in an Asian restaurant you know that it works well with a light, meaty flavored sauce atop it. This is a new go-to sauce for me.

Shanghai Fried Noodles (with chicken instead of pork)

After trying, and failing, to find flat rice noodles I went with this recipe as it reminded me of lo mein.

Shanghai noodles are made of wheat and thicker than lo mein noodles. The base sauce here is significantly soy based (I used low sodium soy and dark soy sauce for color) along with white pepper and sugar (more staples in dishes with sauce in Easy Chinese Recipes).

Instead of pork, which is noted in the recipe, I made it with chicken, tenderizing it again beforehand.

Spinach and green onions are included in this dish and it's nice to have something green in there with all the noodles and protein.

I was worried that all the soy sauce would make this too salty even with low sodium because of the two used. But once I mixed it with the noodles and added chicken and spinach it was not a problem. This is not a slurpy, greasy mess when you eat it at all. It doesn't leave a huge oily mess on your plate but caters to having subtle flavors. The chicken was perfect, lightly toasted on the outside and a perfect moisture on the inside. I was glad to eat this over several nights.

Green Onion Pancakes

This was the most time intensive recipe (not hours or anything just longer than 30 minutes or so), and that is because you have to set the dough aside and also roll several out to prepare pancakes for frying. Also, I lost track of what stage I was in so re-rolled some balls more times than necessary.

I was worried that I didn't put enough green onions (scallions) into the dough. The basis for the dough is flour, water, and salt with little more additions besides the scallions and a brush of oil then more for deep frying. Scallions are darned strong (in smell and taste). I've always enjoyed eating scallion pancakes when going out for dim sum with friends. That with some hoisin sauce...awesome.

The frying went quickly. You have to make sure not to overdo it which may be hard as the oil gets hotter and hotter the more you cook. They came out golden brown then a bit browner and my whole apartment smelled of scallions (not complaining).

I waited a few minutes for the first batch to cool and then took a bit. I don't use acronyms when describing things but O.M.G! These were just as good as the ones I've had in restaurants and, you know what I'm going to say, less greasy. The grease factor may be because I often let things sit on paper towels and pat them to get rid of as much oil as possible where you may get the pancakes right out of the fryer in a restaurant. But the flavor even with less scallions than I had thought (because I had cut them up a bit bigger) was there! It pervaded in every part of the pancake but not so much you felt a need to hold a hand up  to your mouth to cover up your breath. Minimal salt and accompanying sauce was unnecessary. It worked on its own.

The Verdict

After eating each meal I didn't feel too full or lethargic, nor was I too thirsty which can happen with the overly salty ways and MSG found in many takeout eateries (though many may proclaim they do not have MSG). Specifically the fried rice and green onion pancake were lighter for me compared to their restaurant/takeout/frozen counterparts. The flavors weren't too bold in that they overwhelmed but each had a distinct taste I could place that was effective and delicious. I really, really enjoyed every dish I made. No offense to the places I've grown up eating at but I'll probably be making these dishes on my own from now on unless a major ennui hampers me in the kitchen.

Bee's book helped me realize that Chinese cooking can be easy and healthier and tastier! Easy Chinese Recipes also gave me a lot of faith in myself, of being able to make a quick meal for friends and family and have it be better for them than what we've grown up with in NYC. What is also great is that many dishes serve two so making them won't leave too many leftovers in the homestead if you're cooking for yourself.

The only critical thing I can say is, as someone who bakes, I wouldn't have minded a larger dessert section. Easy Chinese Recipes is divided up by appetizers, dumplings/dim sum, entrees (pork and beef, chicken, seafood, vegetable, noodles & rice), and dessert/drinks. There are five dessert recipes in total, including custard tarts and shaved ice.

However, the major benefit of Easy Chinese Recipes is the amount you learn and the fact that you get wonderfully tasty sauces and succulent meats goes beyond any critical thing I could say.

The Giveaway

I definitely want to share my new love and ease of cooking Chinese food at home. And I'd like to thank Rowan at Tuttle Publishing for being generous in helping me with this giveaway. 

So here's the deal, from September 3rd to September 17th (12:01am, EST) I'll be running a giveaway. There are a few ways to enter: make a comment on this post (once a day if you like), liking Tuttle Publishing's and/or Rasa Malaysia's Facebook page and noting both via Rafflecopter (below).  Rafflecopter will choose a winner at random and I'll be in touch about an address and send the book to you via USPS.

Check out Rasa Malaysia for new recipes and some from her cookbook. Also check out other cooking titles from Tuttle Publishing. Personally, I'm really looking forward to Paleo Indulgences. :-)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

MIA for Writing Conferences

Just an FYI that I'm traveling for the next couple of weeks, so there'll be no updates until early/mid-August. First stop is Napa Valley for the Napa Valley Writers' Conference. I'm psyched to be in Tayari Jones' fiction workshop and will be discussing one of the pieces from my linked story collection. It's been one of the hardest stories for me to tackle and I finally (read: finally) found the right way in which to tell this character's story, so we'll see if I'm on the right track. Some of us attendees have been connecting via Google Groups and I'm already indebted to their generosity and kindness regarding rides and such. And I'm super stoked about staying in a cottage during my stay in Napa. Pics will be taken!

After that I'm headed to New Mexico. First few days will be with a friend I met at the Postgraduate Writers' Conference three years ago (and you know how much I loved that conference) to see the sights of Albuquerque before she drops me off in Sante Fe for the Glen West Workshop. I'm also excited to be in a workshop with another author I admire, Sara Zarr. The workshop is YA focused and I'll be workshopping another story from the collection from a teenage boy's POV. So I'm intrigued to hear what others think, and to see Santa Fe.

Needless to say there'll be lots reading and artist immersion (and possibly drinking) over the next two weeks, well at least in Napa Valley. And then it's residency application season!

So far I've been blown away by the manuscripts I've been reading for both conferences and I cannot wait to meet my workshop groups.

When I get back I promise a nice summary of events and then a cookbook giveaway of Rasa Malaysia's Easy Chinese Recipes. (Thanks to the generosity of Tuttle Publishing.)

Have a great summer. Stay busy and creative! 

Winner of "Herbivoracious" and my Twitter Giveaway!

Saturday was the last day you could put in for the Herbivoracious cookbook giveaway. I got the winner the old-fashioned way: I wrote the names down on small slits of paper, put them in a bag, shook it up, and closed my eyes as I grabbed a slip. And the winner is:

Carol Sue!

Major congrats! I'll be emailing you for your address and will send via USPS this week. Hope you enjoy it. And even if you didn't win, Michael has many recipes from Herbivoracious on his website where you can test drive some. If you like what you see/try than I highly suggest getting a copy from Harvard Common Press. It's a great book to have on-hand, especially for those, like myself, seeking to make more veggie heavy dishes with flair.

One giveaway ends and another begins. Yes, I'm feeling particularly giving now. Call it post-Book Expo warm fuzzies.

Since I'm getting close to the 500 follower mark (or have hit it by the time this posts) on Twitter I have decided to hold a giveaway for my followers.

Here are the rules:

1) You're automatically entered if you follow me on Twitter. No need to tweet or comment or anything.

2) Once I get to the 501 mark (as followers tend to waver 1 or 2 per day) I'll randomly choose a winner using Random Number Generator. I will only enter numbers 1-whatever # followers I have that day.

3) I will pick two numbers randomly. From there I will count the followers (yes, count) in ascending order (bottom to top) and determine which follower corresponds with that number. Hard work, but someone's got to do it.

4) If the number corresponds with a spammer or corporation or family member (sorry, but I gotta stay somewhat neutral) they will not be counted and I will randomly pick another number and find the follower that corresponds as long as they are an individual and not related to me.

5) I will announce the winners via Twitter and DM them. If they do not respond within 48 hours I'll repeat steps 3 & 4 to find another winner.

6) Once I get in touch with winner we'll discuss which prize you'd like and I'll get it ASAP. Meaning within the week if possible/available.

So I'm sure you're wondering what the prizes are? Since my website/blog is based around my love of the written word and baking it only seems fitting that the prizes reflect such. So, two lucky, random winners will get a choice between:

• A book (whatever genre) at a $25 (USD) value or less OR
• Dessert from one of the bakeries I have interviewed (check my baking page for direct links to interviews) at a value of $25 (USD) or less. Sorry to say that this doesn't count Cupcakes in Rome as she is located in Italy, however if YOU are in Italy you may be in luck! Please note that some bakeries only deliver to the NYC/tri-state area so we can try and work out another dessert if you have a hankering and are out of location.

Update as of July 14th: A couple days after this post originally pubbed I reached 504 followers and chose two winners randomly from Twitter. They were Jacob G. Adams and Ajit Dhillon! They both chose books. Well Jacob chose a book and Ajit got a $25 Amazon giftcard. So congrats guys and glad you enjoyed your gifts! Thanks again for following!

I'll have another cookbook giveaway in August thanks to Tuttle Publishing for Bee Yinn Low's (aka RasaMalaysia) new book. So stay tuned!

Thanks for following and reading!