A couple Christmases ago, my family and I started a tradition of building gingerbread houses on Christmas morning. The tradition started as a way to engage a few of us in a fun, approachable activity on Christmas morning while my parents were preparing food for the rest of the family. This was back in 2015, the year my younger brother, Yu, met his girlfriend, Audrey. Audrey was my sister-in-law, Steph’s cousin. Steph had wanted to bring Audrey over to celebrate Christmas with our family. We didn’t know Audrey too well, so we wanted to pick an approachable activity for everyone to partake in on Christmas morning.
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Holiday Bark
Earlier this week, one of my colleagues brought in some white chocolate and pretzel bark to share with our office for the holidays. She packed a couple pieces in festive holiday bags and distributed them to people in our office. I was one of the lucky recipients of her white chocolate and pretzel bark. When I opened up the festive holiday bag and took a bite out of the bark, I could not stop myself from eating more. The bark had a perfect combination of crunchiness, creaminess, sweetness, and saltiness.
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Overnight Mushroom and Chicken Congee
I like to prepare breakfast overnight on days when I know I will not have a lot of time in the morning to cook a full meal. Some weekends tend to be busier than others for me, but usually weekdays are when I wish I had a hot breakfast waiting for me in the morning when I woke up. My overnight mushroom and chicken congee was just the breakfast I often crave on cold winter mornings.
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Everything Bagel Breakfast Bake
Winters are the best time to experiment with casserole dishes. Several weeks ago, I made a savory breakfast casserole using some of my favorite breakfast ingredients including tater tots and breakfast sausage. Last week, I made a sweet blackberry breakfast bake featuring some of my favorite flavors in French toast and pancakes. Earlier this week, I was craving another savory breakfast casserole, but this time, I wanted the casserole to feature two of my favorite indulgent breakfast items. I combined my love for everything bagel and scallion cream cheese with my love for bacon, egg, and cheese on an everything bagel.
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Hot Pot for Two
Kevin and I have been addicted to hot pot lately. Just recently, a new hot pot restaurant opened up near our home. Since the restaurant opened, Kevin and I have already gone to the restaurant twice. Each table had a portable butane stove, unlimited access to dipping sauces, and a large selection of meats, vegetables, and seafood. While the meal can be pricey for just two people, we really do appreciate having access to authentic Chinese hot pot. Over the weekend, we decided to recreate the hot pot experience at home.
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Tomato, Lemon, and Black Pepper Pizza
Several weeks ago, right after Thanksgiving, I had developed the perfect pizza crust using a combination of all-purpose flour and bread flour when making my BBQ turkey pizza. Over the weekend, I had another craving for pizza so I decided to make pizza again, but this time, I wanted to incorporate my favorite pasta flavors into the pizza.
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Egg Custard Pudding and Pie Crust Cookies
Today’s recipe is inspired by my love of egg tarts. Egg tarts are a classic Chinese bakery staple. It is the one item every Chinese bakery must have. I’ve been eating egg tarts my whole life. I pretty much ate egg tarts since childhood. The bakeries along the streets of Brooklyn where I grew up would serve up egg tarts to customers throughout the day—especially in the mornings. On Saturday and Sunday mornings, you can bet my family and I are waiting in line at one of the local bakeries to pick up some egg tarts, char siu bao, and dim sum.
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Vanilla Royal Icing
One of the best parts of the holidays is baking and decorating sugar cookies. The entire process from rolling out the cookies, cutting out the cookies, baking the cookies, and then decorating the cookies is very relaxing and is a great way to kick start all of the holiday festivities. Today, I baked two types of sugar cookies –a classic version and a reimagined version.
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Rosemary and Cheddar Cupcakes
It’s no secret I love to bake cupcakes. My family and friends always request I make cupcakes and bring enough to eat right away (and to save some for later) for pretty much all celebrations. The two most requested cupcakes from my family and friends are my strawberry cupcakes and blueberry lemon cupcakes. While I love to make sweet cupcakes with tons of frosting, I also love to make and eat savory cupcakes. Over the weekend, I made a batch of rosemary and cheddar cupcakes to bring along for breakfast throughout the week.
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Vegetable and Chicken Egg Rolls
Over the weekend, while I was picking up groceries for the week, I had a strong craving for egg rolls. I’m not sure why I was specifically craving egg rolls, but I really wanted to make a batch at home to enjoy throughout the week. As the holidays are approaching, I’m beginning to get more excited about indulging in the most delicious fried foods. This year, I will be heading home to visit my parents for the holidays.
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