pepperoni pizza - easy as pie (pizza pie, that is)

"Do you want to order pizza tonight for dinner?"
"No, grandma. Just this past year I learned how to cook, so I mean, I should like cook things for you. You know?"
"Oh sure honey. Can we cook pizza then?"
... So to appease all sides, we instead opted to create a pizza at home. I'm not quite ready to make a pizza dough from scratch (I've only made one yeast bread before- honey whole wheat bread- and although it was successful, I'm not emotionally ready for the second time around).


Enter: Pillsbury pizza dough in a can.


Okay, so for once I cut a few corners- kill me. Canned tomato sauce, shredded mozzarella, and sliced pepperoni helped out too.


Who knew pizza was this easy to make? No joke- it tasted like a regular pizza you could have got from anywhere.


I mean, nothing to write home about. But at the same time, it took literally 5 minutes, allowed me to put whatever toppings I wanted, and made my grandma happy. Score.


Stringy mozzarella cheese is my shit.

mini cheese & bacon quiches - "big purses, big hair, big men"

I live by this rule: The bigger, the better. Big purses, big hair, big men, ...and I should probably stop this here. I follow this philosophy probably because subconsciously it makes me feel smaller. Now, I know I'm no huge obese whale, but I'm definitely not a teensy tiny twig. To contradict everything I have just said (haha), I actually love mini-sized food. Okay, I can actually put the two concepts together- Miniature foods allow me to portion control my food intake, thus keeping me a smaller size. (Complete blatant lie- I end up eating more in the long run.)



There's just something about tiny cutesy edible things that are so fucking adorable. I'm obsessed with the concept of appetizers, and I think every meal of every day for the rest of my life should consist of tiny handheld balls of cuteness (that's what she said). Completely unrealistic, especially seeing how long these things can take to create. I actually cut my time drastically by rolling my dough into balls and flattening them out, opposed to rolling the entire thing flat and cutting individual sized circles.



I had this grand image of me creating tons of mini appetizers and making assorted plates of deliciousness for all of my grandma's friends. Didn't happen. After doing the crust of these quiches (a minimum hour), it was time to create a filling. I whipped together what we had in the fridge- assortments of cheeses and meats. I then attempted to pour them into the muffin tins with the differences noted in my head. Unfortunately I forgot where I put what. Fortunately, although not purposely, they all tasted the same anyways.



I used a pate sucree (how you like them French apples?), which is a pastry crust made for tarts and similar shit. It's on the sweeter side, but I figured I'd go with it anyways because this dough is just a thousand times easier to whip up than regular pie crust.


So what exactly does a sweet crust taste like with a savory filling? Unusually satisfying, that's for sure. I guess I never took into consideration how that contrast would play out in the final step. Well lucky for me- I have a very huge sweet tooth!

For those not so keen for the sweetness, I have actually attempted savory quiches- My mexican quiche tart came out extraordinary, as did my previous mini cheese and bacon quiches.

cream cheese deviled eggs - let me upgrade yaaa

I love my grandmother to death and I try to visit her as often as I can. Since I have begun my recent rollercoaster journey through cooking-enjoyment, we have learned to create a systematic plan of how my trip generally goes. The first day of my arrival, we fill the shopping cart to the brim with all essential groceries I could ever possibly need; we pick out a few cooking magazines/books; then we begin our plan of attack. I then write all possible recipes I plan to recreate, and then organize them in a timely manner. Amidst all of my calculations, I usually let my grandma flip through some of the recipes to see what she'd like to make.


Really grandma? You want to make deviled-frikin-eggs? There's hundreds of recipes in these magazines- everything from french onion soup to red bean chili to eggplant parmigiana- and yet she picked the most basic and easiest one.


Whatever grandma wants, is what grandma gets. Although not entirely- I'm planning on sprucing it up a bit. Cream cheese and bacon- absolutely nothing can go wrong with this combination.


Fun fact: The smell of fresh hard boiled eggs makes me dry heave. After my near vomit experience, I shoved the creamy cream cheese filling into a large ziplock bag, creating a makeshift piping bag (I'm so nifty with this shit).


And voila- fancy shmancy curly piped delived eggs. Can it get any cuter? (Answer: Yes. Scroll down).



Little bits of crispy bacon! I made it rain on them hoes.


The bacon first and foremost lent a crunchy texture that the soft filling needed. Equally important (in my aesthetically-driven mind, at least), the bacon helped create a gorgeous contrast in color. And last but not least- the little adorable deviled eggs tasted fucking delicious. Mission accomplished.

spaghetti with meat sauce - one step closer to becoming an italian grandmother

Growing up, I've never had much of an affinity for Italian food. Perhaps it was just an acquired tasted, or perhaps Hawai'i wasn't a top producer of quality Italian food (shocker). Either way, since my relocation to New York, I have more than learned to love Italian food- I've actually emotionally become an old Italian grandmother trying to feed everyone in sight. Speaking of grandmothers, I have recently found myself in the middle of bumblefuck South Dakota. Can you guess what I cooked up for her on my first day there? ...Italian!


I found myself in a bit of a rut, though. For anyone not familiar with people from the midwest, about 95% of them lack any tastebuds. The concept of "steak and potatoes" originated here.. and I don't expect they're talking about seasoned fillet mignon or herb encrusted potatoes. I literally mean they're the blandest of the bland.


To solve my dilemma, I knew I had to resort to the basics. Thinking that my midwesterner grandmother (who is full German, by the way) would know what penne alla vodka or baked ziti was, would practically be unheard of. Instead, I suppose basic conventional spaghetti and meat sauce will do... (I really do hate dumbing my cooking talents down).


Just because I had to restrain my skills and be forced to cook this mundane meal didn't mean I couldn't make it pretty and shit.


But alas- once you dig your fork into the spaghetti, all the prettiness subsides. What is left is an intermingled pile of Italian deliciousness. Even with the fact that all extra spices were subdued (half the amount of garlic, no inclusion of pepper or pepper flakes, etc.), the meat sauce turned out surprisingly delicious (as well as Italian-grandmother approved).


Now, I may never get the chance to be the Italian grandmother I pretend to be, but I'm damn near close. Give me a few years to catch up, and I'll be giving them a run for their money.

rice noodles with beef - a quick nameless last supper

My last night here in Orange County was an exhausting one. Packing was hectic enough, but trying to make sure I accomplished all my goals while being here was even more worrisome (I was here for only a mere 5 days). In the midst of attempting to share all my stories with my family, along with gaining all the knowledge I could from my grandparents, I did something I rarely ever do- I forgot about food. How could something like that happen to me of all people?


Luckily, I was surrounded by other food-conscious people (my entire family, actually). My aunt was already one step ahead of the game by preparing an easy yet equally tasty final dinner for me.


Before I begin and make this sound even more awkward, I have to tell you- I have no idea what this dish is called. I do recall them telling me, so it must have a name; but I just can't think of it at the moment. Whatever it's referred to as, the gist of this meal is basically this: Rice noodles, ground beef, stock, and accoutrement.


While everyone was running doing their assigned jobs, I stopped to take a moment and observe this little corner in the kitchen. There it was- a peculiar grating gadget and a beautiful chunk of raw ginger. I hunched over and took a photo of this amazing sight, only to be startled when my aunt turned around and asked me what the hell I was doing. Well, apparently I appreciate the little things in life- literally. I love taking an overlooked unimportant object and elevating it to the status of a beautiful piece of art. I sound cheesy, I know.


As typical dishes I've tasted at my grandmother's house, it begins by building the foundation. First is always the noodles/rice, with the soup/broth poured on top. These rice noodles may look strange and albino, but honestly they're delicious enough to be eaten alone. Plopped atop these mock fettuccine noodles is a heaping amount of ground beef (properly seasoned, of course).


The brothy soup gets added along with the desired greens. And voila- an easy dinner that satisfied the stomach and still gave everyone enough time to do what they needed.