Christopher Prall

If one was to 'rank' the importance of a chinese dish during for the New Year, I would say it would be Longevity Noodles.

A wish for good fortune -- Good Luck, Prosperity, Longevity, Happiness and Abundance -- is central to the Chinese way of life.

This was also pretty straightforward to make and it was mighty tasty too. One note - the type of noodle you use cooks very quickly, so be sure to keep an eye on it when you do cook with it. I had to ask in the Grand Asia Maket which noodles I was to use.

Continue reading "Longevity Noodles" »

Posted by Christopher Prall at 07:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

To go along with the vegetables, I also made a traditional chicken dish.

It's traditional to serve a whole chicken, including the head and feet, for Chinese New Year. The white meat symbolizes purity, and serving the entire bird represents unity.

Preparing and cooking this dish wasn't as hard as I thought it may be, but I had real issue carving the bird and dicing it up how you'd typically see it at a Chinese restaurant. If you try to make it yourself, I hope that you had better luck than me. It did come out very juicy though.

Continue reading "White-cut Chicken" »

Posted by Christopher Prall at 07:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

As some people may know, it was Chinese New Year this past weekend, so I decided to cook a traditional Chinese meal (beyond fried rice).

For a vegetable dish, I made Braised Bok Choy and Shittakes:

Continue reading "Braised Bok Choy and Shiitakes" »

Posted by Christopher Prall at 07:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This recipe looks like a hungry drunk person just went through his kitchen and said "what can I cook with SPAM" . . . and no, it wasn't me.

RecipeSource: Spam Hashbrown Bake

Posted by Christopher Prall at 10:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Every week, I’ve been trying to do one good home-cooked meal to a) enjoy a real dinner, and b) to try new recipes that I generally make up. This week, I must say, was one of the more creative ones that turned out quite well.

I wanted to make dish as an appetizer where you could scoop it up the romaine lettuce hearts – an idea inspired by the PF Chang appetizer.

Continue reading "Curry Chicken Appetizer" »

Posted by Christopher Prall at 11:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

To accompany the Grilled Salmon item, I also cooked this pasta dish. I was very happy with how the pasta dish came out - I am not generally a big pasta person. This recipe was found on cdkitchen.

The recipe is below:

Continue reading "Angel Hair Pasta with Parsley and Lemon" »

Posted by Christopher Prall at 10:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I felt inpired tonight to cook up some salmon. However, instead of doing a typical salmon dish, I thought of trying something slightly different. I looked around and found this recipe on Cooks.com. In my instance, I halved the recipe portions and instead of grilling the salmon, I pan seared it. The original recipe is as follows:

Continue reading "Grilled Salmon with Cabernet Sauvignon Sauce" »

Posted by Christopher Prall at 09:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

This weekend, I will be trying a new dish I found on Elise's Blog. Looks pretty simple and delicious.

Shell Pasta with Sausage and Greens

Posted by Christopher Prall at 09:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Most people have not heard of manioc root (also called cassava or yuca). It is a large starchy root, popular in tropical areas. I was introduced to it when I lived in Brazil. Fried manioc is most similar to french fries, though it is denser and has a slightly different taste.
It requires more effort to cook, but it is well worth the time.

Continue reading "Appetizers: Mandioca Frita (Fried Manioc)" »

Posted by Christopher Prall at 11:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

For New Year's Day, my roommate and I had several of our friends over for dinner and drinks. The menu consisted of a deep fried turkey, stuffed shells, steamed vegetables, pasta, and fried potatoes. All came out well, except the fried potatoes.

I was under the impression that all you had to do was slice the potatoes, season them, and toss in hot oil for a few minutes. When we did this, all we got were cooked, soggy potato slices. A disappointment.

As I scour through the internet for an optimal recipe, (Cook Recipes, ThrifyFun, and the Food Network), there were some repeating themes, and some good ideas. Taking all these into consideration, I have put together what I think will produce the Perfect French Fry.

Continue reading "Making the Perfect French Fry" »

Posted by Christopher Prall at 05:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)