Anyone who has ever told you that the reason that Japanese people are so thin is that they eat less than westerners do is a complete and utter liar. Attention liars, and you know who you are, understand that I have sat behind you while you are on dates, in airplanes, at pompous American sushi restaurants and I really have heard it all. It needs to stop.

There are several components to their over all lifestyle and genetic makeup that allow them to remain slender and youthful until a very young age. True, they do eat a higher grade of meats and produce and typically have a much more active day to day life but this does not entirely explain how they are able to consume such massive quantities.

Sadly, the all knowing Wikipedia has very little detail on Washoku so the link I have provided to their article is quite minimal. There are tremendous differences in regions and even prefectures regarding the over all menu, you must also account for the seasons, but the process and length is nothing short of tremendous and my huge American stomach has been filled beyond capacity at more than one of these occasions.

Whilst in Nagasaki, and included in the cost of staying at our lavish yet peculiar hotel, we were served a multi-course traditional style Japanese meal that consisted of several small dishes served in various sequence each one following the ending of another. What you see before you is the beginning of this ingest-endurance trial. Some Delicious specialty Nigiri: Tai, Cuddle fish and Uni in the box in the little dish near the bottom left corner is are some vegetables garnishing a nice plump raw scallop which is dipped in the Yuzu Miso sauce in the yellow dish. Finally that is some super tender Japanese beef that is ready to be cooked.

This neat little contraption has a bad of butter on the inside and a full lump of sterno ready to be fired up for some on the fly grilling. Along with the beef there are some other vegetables, namely White Onions, Green Peppers and Egg Plant. As the vegetables stew in the juice of the beef fat and butter the aromas become nearly irresistible but entirely worth waiting for them to cool down.

Oh yeah, Sushi Boat. What better way to present the bounty of the sea than on a little wooden boat? These slices of Salmon and Tai are garnished with Shredded Daikon, Carrots and Shiso, which is the green leafy thing that is a totally edible garnish and will reappear again in another form during this review. The best way to describe Shiso, to me, is to think of it as a giant piece of parsley.

A quick note to Green Peace and the Sea Shepherds, you all need to try Whale Bacon! You think that you are really doing some good by trying to stop me from enjoying one of the most delicious forms of one of the most delicious mammals on the planet? I really think that a bite or two of whale bacon would really open their eyes to a whole new world. Being that this stuff is terribly expensive its nice to see it in the line up. Its got a crunchier or firmer texture than its pork cousins, but the oils in the meat are so salty and wonderful it really is a shame I can only eat it once a year.

Yay! Fried course, little Cuddle fish little more Shiso. Vegi and Meat variety tempura is always tasty. The light batter and rich oil are such an interesting pairing that you may find yourself sucking it all up before you realize what you have done.

Sea Snail Gratin was a new one for me, not only in Japan but in general. I have to say that you couldn’t really taste the little sucker cause he was covered in butter cheese and cream. Not that I am really complaining because it was absolutely fabulous. The other fun part about eating this one was that with every carefully removed spoonful of delicious goo there seemed to flow more from within the shell. A crustacean gratin fountain if you will.

The desert course consisted of this charming little flan style custard dish with a coffee gelatin on top and the nice fruit for a palette cleanser. It was really nice and light but the coffee component, like most coffee I have had in Japan, is really light not as much of a stage personality as I would like/prefer.

Not pictured was a hot soup that came from a dashi base with some Tofu in it. Sorry…

Not too surprisingly I limped back to my room, muy pants entirely unbuttoned and my swollen mid-section attempting to direct me to the floor at every turn. This was an impossible amount of food. I couldn’t finish all of the dishes. It was ambitious to try none the less and as many times as I have been able to experience this sort of activity, I am still amazed by the seemingly unending stream of small plates arriving at the table. Upon first glance this mountain appears to be a molehill but it is quite the green scaled sleeping giant that keeps my barf bag on standby from time to time. How do the Japanese do it? They are born with two stomaches.

Thanks for reading.

Zach “the close to puking eater”

Cheers to you!

Nagasaki city is famous for many things, non the least is the Chukagai ( or Chinatown ) that is located near the center of the downtown area. You may find it strange that what is called the Chinatown, really only consists of about 4 or 5 square blocks of small gift shops, herbalists, message parlors and restaurants.

Castella ( Portuguese pound cake ) and glassware make up the majority of the offerings that make Nagasaki famous. But lets go ahead and skip the sweats in favor of a more savory offerings from its Chinese inhabitants, Sara-udon and Champon. Both of these dishes feature a common element in their base, a layer of brittle or crunchy thin noodles that add some texture to the softer noodles and various vegetables above it.

Champon, the first stop on this unusual sort of mix between Chinese and Japanese cooking. The large ceramic bowl is filled first with what seems to be a rather thick shrimp based dashi (soup or broth or something in this range) that is in fact opaque and not clear like many of its American counterparts. Next a layer of the thinner and crunchy noodles that create the texture layer I was referring to earlier. Next a flouring of some friendly items Cabbage (napa), Carrots, Naruto, Shrimp, Green Onions, Chewy Udon style noodles and some minced pork, because pork belongs in almost everything.

Sara-Udon is a slightly different animal but has some of the same parts and pieces. The main differentiator is the lack of soup and the addition of a creamy rue on top of everything making it all sort of hang together under one banner. This creamy emulsifier really helps tie all of the components of the dish together.

Fried rice is a nearly essential addition to many meals in Japan, especially when noodles and the cross cultural context of the dishes. This particular serving was quite a bit more satisfactory than some I had already encountered at the local Ramen shop and the variety of how a single dish is prepared varies from region to region and shop to shop. The complex mixture of oils eggs and veggies is always welcome.

I wish I knew the name of this succulent offering but alas it is forgotten. The dish consists of pieces of bread that have been oil and then deep fried to a toast like texture on the outside while cupping a small portion of what appears to be a sort of Chinese meatloaf. The content are quite similar to pan fried dumplings, pork based ground meet with green onions, garlic and breadcrumbs bring a savory regiment of protein to the party.

Surely not to be missed the Chukagai of Nagasaki is a bit of a wonderland and if you are in the area for a couple of nights, there are plenty of interesting and delicious sights and sensations to experiment with. Upon my return from the area I learned that Champon is not a specialty of Nagasaki city and that the meal we had was average.

All in all I enjoyed this entry point and found it to be satisfying and unique. The combination of soft or semi-firm noodles amidst some potato chip like crunch is really fun to eat. The sound and texture are a welcome distraction and make for some good eats.

Z “so full”

Who are you?

This will be fairly concise compared to my usual articles because there is only one subject, craft beer with an Owl on it In Japan the mega sized beer corporations sort of rule the landscape and are composed mainly of Kirin, Sapporo, Yebisu and Asahi. All of which offer a lager style dry beer typically on tap and in nearly every refrigerator of every home.

When looking for “craft beer” or what the Japanese refer to as Ji-Beer, or the place this was made (local) beer. While perusing the “import” super market I found a small row of HITACHINO NEST BEER from the options available I went with their Pale Ale and upon the sampling I will be back to sample their other offerrings.

The KIUCHI BREWERY, located in the sleepy prefecture known as Ibaraki has definitely produced a more than high quality product that rivals the Pale Ale offerings from my previous posts hands down. The weight of the liquid itself commanded more than the passive consumption but a bit of reflection. Lightly hoppy, crisp and bright the Pale Ale more than satisfy, it compelled me to seek out more of the company’s products, which according to their website there is an abundance. Next to its American cousins it definitely casts a tall shadow.

The one quality that didn’t quite fit the usual Pale Ale profile was the absence of the cave funk. Typically the finish is a little musty and drawn out but this beer seemed to remain bright and sweet till the very end which is definitely appreciated. I would say that in some sense its not really that much of a Pale Ale in the traditional sense but it is a damn fine Beer!

I hope this wasn’t a fluke but a standard to expect when sampling other Local Brews here in Japan.

Many thanks to the Kiuchi Brewery for their awesome work and to you my friends for reading about what I think

Zach “always hungry” Meyer

That’s right the holidays are here and, Lord help us all, the drinks are flowing. I asked for the wonderful assistance of my good friend, Dave Hilgier, once again to join me for a tasting of winter seasonal brews only. The appeal for this occasion was the unique chance to judge the best tasting winter ale. To my surprise, the winter seasonal brews are almost entirely comprised of ales. There were a few porters on shelves but we figured for the sake of standards that selecting one type of beer for blind tasting would be best.

Making their debut/guest appearances were my brother Robert, and David’s lovely lady Ms. Erin. Although my brother was not technically a judge, he did provide us with fresh cups and clean samples with which to experiment.

This time it wasn’t really about who was the best brewer or how refined the bottle was, it was more about the overall taste of a holiday brew. Since as a group we tend to stay away from winter seasonals due to the Russian roulette nature of the unknown, we thought this would give a sort of level playing field. As luck would have it, none of us had consumed the majority of the selection and there were nine healthy candidates to test drive.

We tried to judge purely on Overall taste, hoppiness, finish and of course plain old drink-ability. The BJCP would probably classify these as Specialty Beers, due to the unusual nature of their components. The theme, of course, is the holidays so the labels and ingredients contained Christmas esque elements like:

• Nutmeg
• Cinnamon
• Juniper Berry
• Ginger
• Frankincense and Myrrh

Jokes aside, let’s get it on!

I think we will go ahead and list these in the same order that they were served to us.

1. K-9 Cruiser Winter Ale by Flying Dog Brewery, 6.4% ABV & 30 IBU

Flying Dog was the first bottle out of the gate, and usually I find FD to be a substantially above average producer of fine beverages but unfortunately their winter ale only fared as average across the panel. Its wet taste with some sweet high notes had a nice head and was quite drinkable without being a stand out item. The hoppiness was quite unnoticeable and the finish had all of the funk of a pilsner with no sign of reward.

It was really an average beer but couldn’t escape an average rating of 3 out of 5 stars.

2. Christmas Ale by Breckenridge Brewery, 7.4% ABV & 22 IBU

Breckenridge is performing as I expect it to, even during the holidays they seem to really be really proud of the slurry that is being bottled in Denver. The Christmas Ale is no exception to their usual performance, strong alcohol finish and lackluster flavor. With a nutty texture, dark color, malty strength and watery flavor, this beer gets the Holiday Wino Beer award. Much higher ABV concentration than most of the other entrants, the overbearing fumes of booze crush all the other flavors and lead one to spit out the contents quickly. One can almost see old St Nick with a brown paper bag sipping ho ho ho-less glups of the stuff to erase the memories of Christmas past.

1.5 out of 5 stars thanks but no thanks.

3. 2 Below Winter Ale by New Belgium, 6.6% ABV & 30 IBU

New Belgium started to round out the evening without really trying. Nice head and clean aroma starts to prepare you for the aroma of Christmas that follows. The lightly carbonated and fruity accents lend themselves to balance the easy hoppiness and clean finish that rounds out the taste. Honestly, I usually feel 2 Below as a middle of the road sort of brew but this seemed like a breath of fresh air amidst the last 2 entries.

3.5 out of 5 stars for something reliably delicious and unique.

4. Never Summer Ale by Boulder Beer, 5.94% ABV, IBU unavailable

I am almost certain that this was the first beer that I have ever tried from the Boulder Beer company (at least on record). From the initial warm brown nutty appearance came a sweet fresh and clean brew that not only had a great beer foundation but all of the distinctive qualities of a seasonal brew. The hoppiness was palatable but not overwhelming and the finish lingered but in a way that was welcomed. I was surprised by the aromatic and flavor qualities.

3.75 out of 5 stars.

5. Nutcracker Ale by Boulevard Brewing Co., 5.9% ABV & 31 IBU

Hands down the FAVORITE of the evening and an absolute show stopper coming straight from Kansas City, Missouri. This was another first for the panel. The strong aroma of Juniper berries is a Christmas morning in a bottle for sure. The creamy texture and sweet hops really projects an appeal that no other beer in the evening could match. The Nutcracker lives up to its name like a liquid combination of gingerbread cookies and egg nog bottled and fermented to foamy perfection.

4.5 out of 5 stars.

6. Isolation Ale by O’dell Brewing Co., 6.0% ABV & 29 IBU

O’dell seems to have a hit and miss policy. They perfect somethings and then others seem to be so average. Not that I have ever had anything unappetizing from them. I have to say that the brew seemed to tie with the 2 Below in terms of taste and quality but it wasn’t a really big winner with the whole panel. The burnt nutty brown ale had some flavor and complexity to it but the slightly skunky finish kept it from being a real contender.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

7. Anchor Christmas Ale by Anchor Brewing Co., 5.5% ABV, IBU unavailable

There are some mixed feelings about this beer, I for one really love the drink but I try not to think of it as a beer. The drink really captures the essence of Christmas or the winter holiday flavors all at once. It is by far the most complex of the group but with almost no hops it seems to be an entirely different animal. It fades quickly at the end but over all is hard to grep as a beer, in my opinion. I like it for being something totally different than the other competitors but I graded it lower because it doesn’t really seem to have any beer attributes besides the name and the bottle.

2 out of 5 stars.

8. Celebration Ale by the Sierra Nevada, 6.8% ABV & 62 IBU

Sierra Nevada attempts to slide some random ale in and call it a winter seasonal without possessing any of the real tenants of its competitors, those being good flavor and seasonal themed seasoning. Thanks to the reefer like skunk which seems permeate the overall aroma of the brew there seemed to be no real high point to grab onto. Strong hops and lingering after taste seem to only complicate the despair of this simple beer.

1.75 out of 5 stars.

9. Special Holiday Ale by Stone Brewery, 9.0% ABV, IBU (satan?)

Stone Brewery Holiday Special Ale is misleading because 3 different brewers were responsible for its unholy conception.
In my opinion it should have been titled Black Christmas, because there is no chance that any holiday cheer could be gleaned from the venom like liquid that lurks under the cap. That black syrupy bile has a kick like an imperial stout and its tar like texture sticks to the back of your throat for what seems like eternity. It hates you, me and pretty much anything that it comes in contact with.

1 out of 5 stars.

Final Analysis

Nut Cracker Ale was unanimously declared the favorite of the pack and to our surprise 2 Below and Never Summer were not all that far off. This was a first time drink for all of us and we were impressed with Boulevard’s offering as it was not only the most delicious of the group but the highlights were both Wintery and supported by a great Beer Foundation, which was rare among the offerings.

Seasonal brews are often a mixed bag and this group was no exception to that. Though through all the twists on holiday favorite themes, flavors and techniques, the true test for any great beer is the foundation. Without this your gingerbread house will collapse.

For your pleasure and consideration, delicious bottle caps.

To close out I would like to first thank:

• David Hilgier
• Ms Erin
• Robert Meyer
• Total Beverage
• Beer Advocate
• CraftBeer.com

For providing great information and resources for our little testing. Dave Hilgier also deserves all the credits for the photos and typography.

Please send us feedback and recommendations, they are always welcomed.

Happy Holidays — ZACH ATTACK MEYER

Direction
1. Heat the over 375F. Grease 9×13 Casserole Dish.
2. Combine 2 cans Cream of Chicken, 1/2 pint Sour Cream, 1 Can Rotel, Cayenne Pepper, Taco Seasonings, and Dried Cilantro and mix well. (If your mixture looks heavy then you can add up to 1/2 Chicken Broth… I skipped Chicken Broth this time)

2. Start Layer the Ingredients.
a. 1st Layer: 1/2 Shredded Chicken

b. 2nd Layer: 1/2 Soup Mixture

c. 3rd Layer: Shredded Tortillas

d. 4th Layer: 1/2 of Shredded Cheese

e. Mix 3/4 Cup Shredded Cheese to the Soup Mixture
f. 5th Layer: Rest of Shredded Chicken
g. 6th Layer: Shredded Tortillas
h. Rest of Soup & Cheese Mixture (e)
i. Sprinkle 1/4 of Shredded Cheese

3. Now into the oven for 40 minutes!

Here is the Mexican Casserole!!

You can eat this casserole with Tortilla chips or as it is!! Thank you Mrs. A!!

Happy Cooking!
Mrs. H

There are a lot of strange things about the Pils that truly identifies it as a class all its own. The Beer’s brewing history and process truly add the proto nature of its form and flavor. And when I say proto, I merely mean that its a Beer that hearkens back to simpler times, ingredients and methods of making alcohol. According to Wikipedia this fascinating Czech addition to the “Lager” family of brews is based on the Bavarian cave fermentation method most popular in Germany. This idea of caves should be something to note, as most of the beers that we tried out had a very distinctive “stale or skunky” smell, aroma or aromatic.

My good friend and Beer accomplice David Hilgier joined me in examining 6 brews, half local and half foreign. When selecting our contestants from our beloved Total Beverage we found it very hard to actually locate a large array of actual Pilseners.

For this brew celebration we followed a BLIND TASTE TEST method for trying everything out, as suggested by a comment from Pete following our review of the IPA’s early this year. This revealed several things to us that were quite surprising. We found ourselves entirely exposed as cocky American Beer drinkers after learning the origin of each of the beers.

1. VICTORY PRIMA PILS by the Victory Brewing Company, 5.3% ABV & 44 IBU (the ABV and IBU were not listed on the bottle, I had to find it online)

This sad entry to the world of beer has been touted by many on the Beertutor.com website but has no true legitimate place in our pantries. It had a disappointingly dull flavor with a small amount of hoppyness but no real bright components in the taste. After a short period of time the foam began clumping into a strange pattern that reminded me of curdling milk, which added to the undesirable nature.

The pungent odor was reminiscent of stale beer left open or on the floor of a college frat house. Simply not the sophisticated image that I had in my mind of Pilsener.

Certainly not the worst beer of the evening but ranking at a 1.75 out of 5 for our overall tastes, this beer didn’t make any friends.

2. LEFT HAND POLESTAR PILSNER by the Left Hand Brewing Company, 5% ABV & 33 IBU (the ABV and IBU were not listed on the bottle, I had to find it online)

And this here gets the prize for being the nastiest beer of the evening. I can’t think of one piece of good constructive criticism for Left Hand accept maybe think about replacing the graphic of the 2 explorers on the front of the bottle with a picture of a urinal. This is the sort of beer you would serve to prisoners on Guantanamo bay while trying to pry information from them. True, it was less skunky than the previous ale and held the shape and structure of its thin foam a bit longer than the last brew, but the overall watery finish made me gag. I literally could not bring myself to finish the serving I was given.

This sad little horse receives a 1 because it wouldn’t be right for me to grade under the lowest number.

3. BLUE PADDLE by the New Belgium Brewing Company, 4.8% ABV & ? IBU (couldn’t find IBU info on the bottle or online)

The Blue Paddle is usually my beer of choice when I think of a Pilsener. Its clean refreshing taste and smooth finish almost always goes great with really greasy food like cheeseburgers and fries. It had a bright fruity sweetness that was quite pronounced and overall it was from sip to finish exactly what I was expecting. There was no funky aftertaste and for the most part it was a bit more aromatic than the 2 atrocities before it.

Everything about the production of this beer seemed to sing the Red White and Blue praises when I first started drinking it, and thankfully I was right about the prediction.

The Paddle is tied for 4th best of the night garnishing a 3 out of 5 for being a palatable example of good beer making.

4. KöNIG PILSENER by the König-Brauerei GmbH Brewing Company, 4.9% ABV & ? IBU (couldn’t find IBU info on the bottle or online)

Here we have the silent winner. Divine in its execution and delicious in its consumption. The German Brew Konig, was without a single doubt the shining light in a rather bleak array of finds. Extremely rich foamy head, fresh fruity taste that waits till the end to hit you, fresh, crisp and frighteningly drinkable. From the look of the bottle to the contents inside, this affordable libation is nothing short of an engineering feat. I can’t recommend this beer enough and I hope that your local spirit retailer has plenty of stock, for just in its consumability this will find its way into your fridge more often then not.

A stunning 4 our of 5.

It still amazes me that given region and ingredients there seem to be limitless opportunities for stand out beers to achieve a level that is really unparalleled.

5. BAVIK PREMIUM PILS by the Bavik-De Brabandere Brewing Company, 5.2% ABV & ? IBU (couldn’t find IBU info on the bottle or online)

Aside from the attractive type on the bottle and the eye-catching curb appeal that the beer may have, this Belgium brew is a dud. It’s thin, watery but sweet flavors have nearly no hoppy influence whatsoever. I think that the beer suffers from a lack of overall personal identity in terms of flavor and overall composition. The real tragedy here is that the Belgians are usually regarded for their craft and this is clearly not a good representation of it. This limp, lifeless and seemingly artificially flavored or sweetened beer takes one step off the wagon and continues to tumble. The nearly syrupy finish is enough to remind you of why you enjoy dry crisp beer.

Bavik, you gets a 1.5 out of 5.

6. PILSNER URQUELL by the Plzensky Prazdroj Brewing Company, 4.4% ABV & 30 IBU (the IBU was not listed on the bottle, I had to find it online)

Wow, I was totally taken by surprise by this little gem. It really stood toe to toe with my beloved Blue Paddle and was considerably less expensive. Dave felt that it out performed the BP overall in taste and drink ability. Aside from the cheesy fake wax seal on the front of the bottle the contents were surprisingly sweet, cheerful, refreshing and fruity. There are some other notes that really separated this little Czech wonder, a woody or earthy undertone really gave the beer some character as well as the unmistakable cave funk smell slightly wafting off the top of the bottle.

Upon first inspection I had assumed that this was a domestic brew and possibly one from Boulder since there seemed to be an almost HippyLettuce like aroma that accompanied the usual frat boy party smell. Another interesting thing is that it was in a green colored bottle with a tramp stamp of a mark on the backside of the neck. Possibly a relic of the old facility but it was unique.

The Urquell received a generous 3 out of 5 points.

To close out I would like to first thank:

• Total Beverage
• Beer Tutor
• Beer Advocate
• Wikipedia

For providing great information and resources for our little testing. And also David Hilgier again for his great photographic contributions, comments, observations and Cheers!

I think that the bottom barrel brewing process found in the structure and history of this pale lager is an overlooked remnant of the early production of beer and can still be appreciated and enjoyed. It is obvious that while not every Beer is great, there are some enjoyable new things to try and I really hope that you do.

Please send us feedback on our little experiments and of course recommendations are always welcomed.

Hope you have enjoyed this little information piece.

All the Best — ZACH ATTACK MEYER

Ingredients
1. 1/4 Cup Coco Powder
2. 1 Tablespoon Espresso Powder
3. 1 Stick Melted Butter

4. 2 Large Eggs
5. 1/2 Cups Sugar
6. 1/2 Cup Flower
7. 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
7. 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract

Direction
1. Preheat the oven to 375F
2. Add Coco Powder and Espresso Powder to the Melted Butter and mix well

3. Add Sugar to this mixture and mix well
4. Add Eggs to this mixture and mix well

5. Add Flour and Baking Powder to this mixture and mix well

6. Pour this mixture to the greased 8×6 baking pan and bake for 30 minutes

Seriously, this is it. As you can tell from the pictures, I just kept adding the ingredients to the one bowl and mixing it, and going to the oven. How easy it can be!!

Here is the final product.

I whipped some heavy cream and put on top of the slice of brownie. Yes!! This completed my day!

Happy Baking!
Mrs H

I have so much to tell you how awesome NYC was… Food wise, NYC MUST have high quality and inexpensive food because of the very serious food industry competition. I mean, you can go to the most expensive restaurant in the city and satisfy your taste buzz, but Zach and I like to go inexpensive and high quality food… So here we go, I’d like to introduce you the three exciting NYC eatery, first the magnificent cup cake!

Magnolia Bakery NYC


I was recommended this place by one of my best friends. The first night we were there in NYC, we were wondering around the times square and found this magnificent Cup Cake Bakery! I was planning to visit but it was destiny we just came across to this store. So we did not resist but went into the store immediately and purchased 4 delicious Cup cakes!

We got a Chocolate Cup Cake, Vanilla Cup Cake, Red Velvet Cup Cake, and Banana Caramel Cup Cake. I dived right into the Banana Caramel Cup Cake so I forgot to take picture of this Cup Cake as a whole… sorry… the Cake was so moist, the balance of Caramel frosting and the Banana Cake were just right. Not too sweet but definitely you can taste both main components of this Cup Cake.

A Chocolate and Vanilla Cup Cake were okay, not so exciting… but the Cream Cheese frosting was extraordinary. I noticed that their frosting was not so sweet but just right to compliment the actual Cake.

OMG, Red Velvet Cup Cake… super moist, looks super red devilish, but just right amount of Coco hitting with the creamy frosting… I don’t think I have ever had such moist Cup Cake ever in my life!!

The second amazing eatery in NYC is located at Little Italy… Da Gennaro Restaurant

One of our dearest friends took us there said “The best Gnocchi Ever!” I was really excited because literally I have never had good Gnocchi in my life. The Gnocchi that I had tasted before was always mushy or gummy and too starchy… I made it myself once and that experience was disappointed. Another fact that I was excited about this experience because we were going to eat an Italian food in Little Italy in NYC. I mean it may be the closest you can get to eat the real authentic Italian Food, don’t you think?? Well, with all these exciting facts, we arrived at Da Gennaro Restaurant in Little Italy NYC!

The Italian Feast!

This is something I ordered, which has Gnocchi with Pesto, Fetachini Alfredo, and Totellini Boroneze, just like Italian Flag the meal was nicely presented in the white plate. Guess what I ate first in this plate? Yes, you guessed it right, Gnocchi with Pesto, as our friend describes as the BEST Gnocchi. He was right, it was an amazing Gnocchi, it is soft, creamy, and melt in your mouth. The pest was just right with Basil, Garlic, and Olive Oil… I am sure there is some nuts and cheese in this sauce but it did not overcome the actual Gnocchi taste. It was divined!! Fetachini Alfredo was amazing as well, the cream sauce was soft and light, the pasta was cooked as al dente, and I think it was home made pasta at the restaurant. Tottelini Boroneze, the right amount of Tomato hits the meat sauce with the creamy Tottelini Pasta, it was awesome… Look at this amazing dish one more time. Please go visit Da Gennaro when you are in NYC, you won’t regret it.

Last and at least, I was recommended this Pizza place from two of our good friends. This New York Famous Pizza place is located under the Brooklyn Bridge.

Grimaldi’s Pizza
The fact was that Zach and I skipped Breakfast and Lunch on this day because we were so excited to go eat this famous New York Pizza in Brooklyn. After the long walk of the Brooklyn Bridge, we were so excited to find this Pizzeria with the ridiculously long line at 2pm.
Long line at 2pm

Long line behind us at 2;30pm

Well well well, by looking at this long line at 2pm on Sunday, we realized it was a confirmation of the Best Pizza in NYC. So we decided to stay in the line wait for our breakfast/lunch/early dinner patiently.
Hungry Couple

We waited for 1.5 hours and we arrived in front of the entrance. We felt that 1.5 hours past right by but the last 5 minutes right in front of the entrance felt another hour of waiting. We got seated and we ordered a large Margarita Pizza and the waiters recommendation of the Pepperoni Sausage and Mushroom Pizza. Also we ordered a Brooklyn Beer and Brooklyn Orange Soda.

You need to ask Zach for the Brooklyn Beer cuz I did not drink it. The Brooklyn Orange Soda was very refreshing not like Fanta Orange… yuck. But you know after skipping breakfast, lunch and walking cross the Brooklyn Bridge, at that point, a glass of Fanta Orange could taste pretty good…

Here are the Pizza Margarita & Pepperoni Sausage Mushroom Pizza.

No wonder why people want their pizza. The Pizza Margarita was amazing with the intense Tomato Sauce, Fresh Mozzarella Cheese, and Basil. The Tomato Sauce tested like fresh Tomato, Mozzarella Cheese was creamy and slightly tangy, and Basil was very aromatic. The crust was very thin that crunchy, it was an amazing pizza I have ever had.
Can you tell by this pic how thin the crust is?
The Pepperoni Sausage Mushroom Pizza recommended by the waiter was amazing as well. The Pepperoni tasted amazing itself. The Pepperoni and Sausage were not greasy like you imagine. It seems that the oil from the meats incorporated with the mushroom and the thin crust, which balanced really nicely. I usually do not like two meats on one pizza but this was an exceptionally tasty meat Pizza!

Oh I miss you NYC. Zach and I are actually thinking about moving to NYC. This city has such a wonderful history and great food! People are actually pretty nice. Right after we got back to Denver, I stared looking for an apartment in NYC and jobs.

Well, we hope to go visit NYC soon again or move to NYC soon… until then, we’ll keep dreaming about the NYC life.

Happy Eating!!
Mrs H

Japanese Potato Croquettes are not difficult to make but definitely tedious process. So I remember when my mother made ones for dinner, it was special to me. And usually she made comments like “I hate making Potato Croquettes, the frying oil makes me sick…” and so on… ahahahahahaha…..

Well, it is worth making one, the home made Potato Croquettes are juicy, soft, and creamy. I bet every family has a different recipe, but I am making one that I remember from my childhood.

Ingredients
1. 10 Small Yellow Potatos
2. 1/2 lb Ground Pork
3. 1 Medium Yellow Onion Diced

4. 1 Cup Frozen Green Peas

5. 2 Tablespoon Salt (I use Sea Salt)
6. 1 Tablespoon White Pepper
7. 1 Egg beaten

8. 1 Cup Flour

9. 2 cups Panko Bread Crumbs

10. Canola Oil, enough to fill pan 1/2-inch and plus 1 Tablespoon

Directions
1. Peel the Potato and boil it till it becomes tender, and mash.

2. In the medium size skillet, add 1 Tablespoon of canola oil and saute e Ground Pork and Onion. This is a side note but I just wanna say I love my Global Knife. Check out the Global Website for the product line.

3. Add Salt and Pepper for the taste.
4. Add Frozen Green Peas to the Pork Mixture and mix well. (Careful not mash the Green Peas)

5. Add the Pork Mixture to the Mashed Potato and mix well.

6. Using an ice cream scoop to shape the Potato Mixture.
7. Roll through flour, dip in the beaten egg, and roll through Panko Bread Crumbs.

8. Fry each Croquette in Shallow Canola Oil until brown on all sides.

The Potato Croquettes, this is what I remember from my childhood.

My mother served the Potato Croquettes with Worcester sauce and small side salad. Next day, you can make the Potato Croquettes Sandwich… Yummy…

It takes less than one hour to make this my childhood memory Potato Croquettes but the process was definitely tedious. Though when you bite into the just fried Potato Croquettes, you’ll be glad that you made it and you’ll forget about all the process you went through!

Happy Cooking!!
Mrs. H

Anyways, as I stated above, I was craving for a Coconut Cupcake. Convenience enough, I usually have majority of the ingredients in my pantry, I found the sweetened shredded coconut so I decided to make one myself.

The recipes that I found online produces 12 to 18 cupcakes, which I did not want to bake that much. So as usual, I tweeted one of the recipes that I found online with addition of a Tablespoon of oil. The oil will help the cupcake to be moist. Also, I usually use Salted Butter instead of Unsalted Butter but do not add any salt that instructed on the recipes online. This is the lazy way of baking but the final products usually come out fabulous so why not right?

The following recipe produces 6 fabulous Coconut Cupcakes!

Ingredients
1. 1.5 sticks salted Butter, room temperature
2. 3/4 cups sugar
3. 3 Large Eggs at room temperature
4. 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

5. 1 Tablesppn Oil (I used Olive Oil just because it was on the Kichen Counter)
6. 1.5 cups flour
7. 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
8. 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
9. 1/2 cup milk
10. 5 ounces sweetened, shredded coconut

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the Butter and Sugar on high speed until light and fluffy.
2. About after 5 to 7 minutes with the mixer on low speed, add the Eggs, 1 at a time.
3. Scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the Vanilla and mix well.
4. In a separate bowl, sift together the Flour, Baking Powder, Baking Soda.
5. In 4 parts, add the dry ingredients and the Milk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry.
6. Fold in 5 ounces of coconut.
7. Spray Pam to a muffin pan. Fill each cup to the top with batter.

8. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

9. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove to a baking rack and cool completely.

The online recipes recommended to have Cream Cheese Frosting. This is just my opinion but the great moist Coconut Cupcakes do not require frosting. It is just good as is. Well, if you still think that the frosting is necessary, uuuuuum, I guess you can make one with mixing butter, cream cheese, vanilla, and powdered sugar together… Sorry I don’t have a recipe for it. I actually whipped some heavy cream with some sugar and mixed with about 1 tablespoon of sour cream, added on the side of the cupcake.

This Coconut Cupcake is super moist. Really 1 Tablespoon of oil makes a BIG difference. Just with butter is not enough to produce this moistness. I could cut the sugar by 1/4 more… 1/2 sugar may be enough for this recipe. I’ll try that next time!

Overall, this is a success recipe and hope you can enjoy the 6 Fabulous Coconut Cupcakes!

Happy Baking!!
Mrs. H