Giada's Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Giada, you have done it again!

Thank you for this wonderful recipe, this is definitely my go-to chocolate chip cookie from now on!

I am not a big walnut/pecan girl, but I am a huge fan of hazelnut. I love the combination of hazelnut and chocolate, Nutella, anyone?!

I made these cookies last year, and they turned out to be a big hit. All I have to say is, thank you, Giada, for creating such beautiful hazelnut/chocolate recipes. I love you.

Soft when warm, crunchy once cooled. Either way, they really tasted perfect. One thing I did do is to reduce both granulated and brown sugar by 1/4 cup (reduced 1/2 cup of sugar overall).

Nomnomnom. Serve me with tea, coffee, or milk.

Chicken Parmesan

Sometimes, I get random cravings for chicken parmesan. The craving happened again last week, so I looked up a few recipes, and made my own twist of chicken parmesan.

I thinned the chicken breast by pounding them. Pounding also makes the meat more tender. 

Since I didn't have a pounder, I pounded the meat the way my mama does it, using the back of the knife and repeatedly make line marks on the meat. Hey, whatever works, right?

Since I didn't have eggs to bread the chicken, I then made a herb oil mixture (basil, oregano, rosemary, and a little bit of crushed red pepper) and used it as the glue for breading.

In goes the chicken.

Lay a layer of sauce and top with chicken and fresh mozzarella. Top with another layer of sauce, and grated parmesan (not shown in pic).

Yum yums, served with a side of pasta!

Chicken Parmesan
Ingredients:
4 pieces of chicken breast
1/3 cup of olive oil
1 teaspoon of dried basil
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon of dried rosemary
dash of salt and pepper
dash of red pepper flakes (optional)
1 cup of dried breadcrumbs
1 1/2 cups of tomato sauce of your choice
1/4 pound of fresh mozzarella, sliced (okay if used shredded)
Freshly grated parmesan

Direction:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Pound the chicken with a pice of plastic wrap over it, until the meat is about 1/2 inch thick.

Make the herb oil mixture- combine dried basil, oregano, rosemary, dash of salt and pepper, and red pepper flakes (optional). Divide the oil mixture by half, and set one half aside.

Dip the chicken in half of the oil mixture, then coat in breadcrumbs. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat, and place some herb oil in. Once the oil is heated, add the chicken in, about 4 minutes per side. (you might need to cook each piece of chicken separately due to the size of your skillet).

Once all the chicken is finished, lay a thin layer of tomato sauce on baking sheet, and place chicken on top of sauce. Top chicken with mozzarella, and ladle another thin layer of tomato sauce, top with freshly grated parmesan. Bake in oven for about 15-20 minutes, until mozzarella is melted.

Taiwan- Misc.

Alright, in this last installment of Taiwan posts, I will share the rest of the pictures-

These are 釋迦(sugar apple), really sweet and soft.

This is what they look like when you open one, lots of seeds.

This is one type of 便當，just happened to be my favorite kind. Rice layer on the bottom, then three different types of veggies, and topped with tender chicken leg and ginger sauce. This is sooooo good!

This is another kind, 池上，they are famous for their chi shang rice. This one is with pork chop.

Garlic bread from 聖娜多堡 bakery. Full of garlicy flavor and crunchy on top and soft inside. So delicious.

爭鮮sushi. Rotating sushi for just $1USD per plate. $20 can take care of three happy bellies!

Really good bakery in Taipei. This one is located in B2 of Bella Vita mall in Taipei. My mom loves their macadamia croissant and cinnamon bun.

 This was a vegetarian buffet we went to. So cheap and so good.

椒麻雞, fried chicken with a tangy sauce top with chili pepper and cilantro. A Yunnan/Thai favorite.

東坡肉，a Chinese favorite, pork belly in a thick sauce.

Scallion pancake. This restaurant made it thick, but nevertheless it was very good!

Lastly, we have 花好月圓, a wedding favorite. It's really mochi dumplings in peanut powder. It's so chewy and sweet, craving for some right now...

Taiwan- noodle shop

There are some local noodle shops by where I live in Taiwan. They are usually served for breakfast or lunch. Noodles are so cheap (less than $1 a bowl), now, let's see what these noodle shops offer!

乾麵－ Plain noodles with a simple sauce made with vinegar, sesame oil. Next to it, we got some kelp and tofu! Simple and yummy!

Another noodle shop, here, they have tofu, meat, and pork intestine topped with a thick soy sauce and ginger. You might be a little grossed out by intestines, but they are actually served a lot in Taiwanese dishes.

A closer look at the meat that is served along side of noodles.

This is Taiwanese style noodles, noodles served in a thicker sauce and topped with chives and bean sprouts.

For less than $5, you can surely get a full and delicious breakfast meal! I love Taiwan!

Taiwan- KiKi Restaurant

Kiki is also one of my favorite restaurants in Taiwan. We were here three times within one week. Crazy, I know, but this Szechuan inspired restaurant has such great food, great service, and great ambiance.

This is 口水雞. The direct translation would be Saliva Chicken, but don't be alarmed, it does not contain saliva! Served cold, the tender chicken is topped with a spicy sauce. It is actually quite refreshing for some strange reason.

擔擔麵－ Dan dan noodles- noodles in a spicy peanut sauce. They make a great one at Kiki, peanuty, spicy, with a hint of tang from Chinese vinegar.

臘肉高麗菜－Cabbage with Chinese bacon. I said bacon, should I elaborate more?

蒜泥白肉－ steamed slices of pork with a garlic soy sauce. This dish is light yet tasty!

干扁四季豆－ minced meat sauteed with string beans. Crunchy and full of flavor.

This is my fav- 蒼蠅頭, direct translation- mosquitos heads. Don't be scared! It's really made of chives and fermented beans! They make a great dish here! I can eat a whole bowl of rice with just this!

水煮魚－water boiled fish. This dish was actually a disappointing one for me. Not enough taste, and not enough fish.

And this is their number one dish- 老皮嫩肉，direct translation, old skin tender meat. Tofu was so tender and delicious, it's a must-get!

Taiwan- Ding Tai Fong 鼎泰豐

I know I have already wrote about this restaurant last summer, but this is probably the most famous restaurant in Taiwan. This Michelin rated restaurant is just so delish, I just have to show it to you again.

The famous soup dumplings.

My personal favorite, fried rice.

Their savory zong zi, sticky rice with meat on the inside.

Hot and sour soup.

Here we have the sweet zong zi.

Filled with red bean paste, just the right amount of sweetness.

 That's all. If you are interested, feel free to visit their website- here
And if you ever visit Taiwan, be sure to visit here!

Taiwan- Street Food

After a crazy month with finals and a three week trip to Taiwan, I am finally back!

In the next few posts, I will be introducing some delicious goods from my trip to Taiwan. What's better than starting with what Taiwan is famous for, street food?!

This is a look of a typical night market. Filled with clothes, food, and right now, iphone cases...

Ah, pork blood rice cake with cilantro and ground peanut… can't get better than this!

Bahn mi, Vietnamese sandwich.

Little mochi balls filled with ground peanut or ground sesame. So chewy and so good.

Oh, you know, just another vendor with chicken hearts, chicken butt, chicken liver, chicken skin, to be fried or grilled with amazing barbecue sauce!

Pork buns- choose either fatty pork or lean pork, and add peanut powder, cilantro, and preserved vegetables.

There are tea places like this everywhere. This is where you get your bubble tea or any kind of refreshing beverages!

This was new, I found this dim sum vendor at a night market. Look at all the steamed shu mais, Chinese meat balls and dumplings!

This, was delicious. This was freshly made sweet potato fries sprinkled with ling hing, a dried plum powder.

And here we have fried stinky tofu, can't go wrong with this.

Ah, this bun, this delicious, soft, bun… wait till you see what they do with this－

冰火菠蘿包－Cut the warm bun in half and shove a slice of icy butter in… you bet it was delicious.