I still remember the very moment I fell in love. It was Valentine’s Day, and my now husband offered to make me dinner. Of course, I was reluctant. The only thing I’ve ever seen him make until then was broccoli and cheddar Hot Pockets - and they were always burnt. But I just couldn’t say no to him. He looked so excited. So I agreed, and made mental notes 1) to eat a big lunch on Valentine’s Day, and 2) to restock the saltine cracker stash in my purse.

When I arrived, his usual dirty, boring, and unstylish apartment was transformed into a romantic restaurant. There were candles, balloons, and flower petals everywhere. But as beautiful as the room looked, it was the aroma which filled the room that caught my attention.

That night I was introduced to beef tenderloin, and I fell in love. The beef just melted in my mouth. It was so soft, yet tasty. It was the best thing I ever had. It was like heaven for my mouth. How could I have never tasted this before? And how did this guy, who lived off burnt Hot Pockets, make something this unbelievable?

Then he shows me the hand written recipe his mom had given him. I stared at him with admiration and amazement. I knew at that moment, he would be my husband. Anyone that could make something that delicious was a keeper (and he’s nice, cute, and all that other good stuff too).

Everytime I make this at dinner parties, I get admiring looks all night. Women are always asking me for the recipe, while the men ask for my hand in marriage (of course I tell them I’m married, but to leave their contact info for future references). This beef tenderloin recipe will get you anything or anyone. Yes, it REALLY is that good. So here it is, my husband’s famous Beef Tenderloin recipe:

Beef Tenderloin (Fillet Mignon) Roast

Ingredients

• 2 pounds of good beef tenderloin ( I always get mine at Costco, and cut it in half at home, and freeze the other half for later)
• 12 pieces of peeled garlic cloves
• 1 carrot
• 1 medium sized yellow onion
• 2 celery stalks
• 2 oz salted butter cut into bite size pieces
• 1 teaspoon salt

For the marinade:

• 2 tablespoons of Maggie (this is a special type of soy sauce, they sell this at Asian markets, and probably in the asian aisle in the regular supermarkets. If you can’t find it, the regular soy sauce will suffice.)
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon dried tarragon leaves
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 1/3 cup sherry or red wine

Directions:

1. Rinse the beef tenderloin under cold water, and pat dry with a clean towel
2. Peel as much fat and tendons off as possible from the beef tenderloin. (it’s not as hard as you think, usually you just have to get one section off with your knife then the whole thing comes off)
3. Embed the garlic cloves into the tenderloin by using your knife and making deep cuts into meat, and then inserting the garlic cloves in.
4. Mix the marinade ingredients together and pour half of the marinade over the beef, and let it sit for at least 15 mins
5. Peel the carrot and celery with a vegetable peeler so that you have long and thin slices of both.
6. Cut the onion into thin and long slices.
7. Place the carrot, celery and onion slices on a ridged bacon rack type dish.
8. Place the marinated beef on top, and pour the remaining marinade over the beef and vegetables.
9. Place the bite size pieces of butter evenly over the beef.
10. Sprinkle the salt evenly over the beef.
11. Cover with wax paper and place in microwave oven. Cook the beef for 15 min on power 5. Turn the roast upside down, halfway through cooking (at about 7 mins).
12. Let stand for 15 min before cutting to serve.

Enjoy!

_Stella_

It’s been raining for weeks now in San Francisco, and this weather can really bring you down. It’s times like this that you want to just curl up on the couch with a good book, a soft blanket, and some comfort food.

Being Chinese, my comfort food of choice is of course, PORRIDGE. My mom always made porridge for me as a kid. When I was sick, I got porridge. When I was feeling down, I got porridge. When I flunked gym class, I got porridge. Making me porridge was like my Mom’s way of saying, everything will be ok. Porridge can cleanse your system, it’s easy to eat and digest, and it is nutritious too!

So if your boyfriend just dumped you for that whore he calls his secretary, or you got fired from work for making copies of your butt afterhours, or you just caught a glimpse of what’s left of your retirement funds, then make yourself some porridge and you’ll feel better.

I added some green onions for presentation...

So here it is, my mom’s porridge recipe:

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup rice
• 3-4 cups water (may use chicken/beef/veggie broth)
• 2 pieces boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut to thin slices (you may also use beef or pork)
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon ginger, minced
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 dash white pepper (according to your taste)
• 1 teaspoon oil
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. First wash the rice, like you normally would before cooking it. If you don’t normally wash rice, don’t worry – it’s simple. You just put it into a big bowl (a medium-sized pot will do), then use water to rinse it 3 times. Rub it with your hands, and drain out most of the water.
2. Then leave it in a bowl soaking in 1 cup of water with 1 teaspoon of oil, and 1 teaspoon of salt. (I usually let this sit for at least an hour, because it helps the rice cook faster, but if you are in a hurry, then by all means, go at it.)
3. Marinate the cut up meat with the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, white pepper, and oyster sauce.
4. Boil 3 cups of water on the stove, and add in the meat and the rice once the water is boiling. Once boiling, turn to medium, and leave the lid ajar so it doesn’t boil over. (I find the easiest clean up method is to use a non stick pot that only fills up at most halfway with all the ingredients inside)
5. Stir contents occasionally to make sure everything is uniform in the pot. If your porridge looks to thick for your liking, then just add some boiling water to the pot. When the porridge is consistent and you can no longer make out the individual rice grains, then the porridge is done (usually about an hour at medium heat).
6. You may serve plain, with green onions, white pepper, Chinese donut, or anything else you may find that meshes well with rice.

This is a very basic and simple recipe. Once you have mastered the simple porridge, you can start adding more things to your porridge like preserved eggs, mushrooms, and whatever else you fancy. I find that you can’t go wrong with this recipe. (Well, except this one time my Granny used the leftover turkey from Thanksgiving to make porridge, and let’s just say it did not comfort me).

Enjoy!

_Stella_