#1 Cornbread Loaf of the world

Ever seen cornbread in a loaf pan??
Now you have!!

My supermoist, slightly sweet cornbread recipe:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 2/3 cup white sugar (use less if corn is sweet)
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 cup skim milk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• kernels of 1 fresh sweet ear of corn
  

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Spray or lightly grease a loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder. Stir in egg, milk and vegetable oil until well combined. Mix in corn kernels. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Because I have a reader...

This one's for you!!
Curried Chicken Puff Pastries (rectangular) & Jellied Puff Pastries (hearts)
Homemade from scratch...except the pastry dough

Savory puff's are courtesy of Head chef Nicholas Sze (top pic)
The heart puff pastries are my own invention, cut out using cookie cutters and filled with your jam of choice - in this case, it was peach jam!

Medusa of Lake Geneva

If you ever get a chance to visit Lake Geneva up in Wisconsin, don't miss out on Medusa - the restaurant. One word to describe the food, service, and restaurant - impeccable.

In the picture above was our appetizer, mini squid in 2 creamy sauces. The top pic is the chef's free-lance masterpiece incorporating seafood as the main ingredient. (He literally whips it up "free style", and is different for every order.) You're looking at a GIANT plate piled high with seared sea scallops, crabmeat, jumbo shrimp, crab, squid, and fish. In the center, you have garlic mashed potatoes, and sugary-sweet corn, laced with grilled vegetables.

Taste - 10/10
Atmosphere - 8/10 (small, bistro-style)
Service - 10/10 (attentive, knowledgeable, and frankly, wonderful young server)
Menu variety - 8/10 (Mediterranean themed, but with multi-ethnic influence)
Menu Originality - 9/10 (The chef masterpiece is like ordering an early Christmas surprise)

YUM. Yum YUM.

Power of a Food Court

Oodles of joy, these were the greasiest Cantonese chicken rice noodles I have ever had.

Add this to the "naan" (that clearly isn't naan) & the OH-SO-FRESH sashimi...

and there you have HK food court at its semi-best. still, YUM.

HK's French Macaron's

I have a problem with not wanting to eat pretty food. French Macaron's are beautiful. Needless to say, I wasn't able to unwrap the perfect little dessert from the plastic...(see first 2 pictures).

One hour & a bus ride home later, trapped between bags of groceries, my burger-like pastries became pancakes. *sniff* (see 3rd picture)

The good news is, I was able to bring myself to eat them. Though now I regret not eating them while they were still pretty. Here they are: Earl Gray Tea Macaron & Blueberry Macaron.

A Tribute to HK Bakeries

The Paper-Wrapped Sponge Cake (L) & The Pineapple Bun (R)

Good luck finding them at your local bakery.
muhhaha.

And now, I shall go enjoy. :)

Cantonese SeaFOOD

HELLO Hong Kong!
You know you're in HK when as soon as you step outdoors, your sweat condenses over your own pores. And when you see strange-looking creatures meant to be eaten lying around on the sidewalk in Sai Kung.

Unlike Chicago, I get to see my swimming seafood before the restaurant takes it out of the tank, cooks it, and plates it for my little taste buds to enjoy.

So, above are some fascinating pictures of ugly animals that Hong Kong people eat. I have no idea what some of them are. Now I wish I took more pictures of the cooked food. Unfortunately, it disappeared way before I whipped out the cam. :P

Tofu, bak choi, straw mushrooms & fishies in soup.

Since Asian people drink soup at the end of the meal, I got a picture of the last dish.
haha.