Copper Top BBQ Big Pine, CA
On our way home from our winter trip to Mammoth Lakes, CA we decided to stop at Copper Top BBQ in Big Pine for lunch. My dad had been there before when he goes to Mammoth to fish with the guys for Opening Day. I …
Author: unrivaledkitch
Oshogatsu 2016 and Osechi Ryori
Happy New Year, everyone! 2015 came and went in a flash. It was truly a year of so many ups and downs, but there was so much to learn and so much to grow from through all those experiences. I am so grateful to have …
Christmas is for family traditions.
It wouldn’t be Christmas without a massive cooking extravaganza and that’s just what it was this holiday season. I was able to have time time off from teaching to just work on tamales and pozole and hang out with my family and enjoy every minute of my time with them. I truly cherish these memories with all my loved ones and the time I was able to spend with my nieces as they enjoyed our holiday traditions. It’s completely amazing. Holidays can be a bustling time of the year, but I truly stayed present to the fun, giving, loving, community-inspired essence of the holidays that I absolutely love so much.
I have been making tamales every year since 2008. It’s a nice way for me to work on some of the bits and pieces of my recipes and come out with a really solid tamale that my family and friends love. This year I got a beautiful new mixer from Brandon, which helped tremendously because my old one was completely worn out. My mom had a chance to put some together herself this year and I can say that I’m pretty quick when it comes to assembly. The stocks, braising meat, making the salsa, rehydrating chiles, roasting chiles and tomatillos and everything else that goes into tamales is a labor of love. So when you taste a really good tamale, remember that it probably wasn’t fast food and take some time to truly enjoy it.
We went to visit my great-aunts and great-uncles at my grandma’s childhood home. Of course, I couldn’t go there empty handed, so this year I brought them a pot of my pozole. I have to admit, the pozole was rather delicious this year, with just the right amount of spice. pozole is another recipe that is a labor of patience and practice. But soup is a soul food and it truly is a nourishing dish. There is nothing like a hot bowl of pozole with all the right toppings on Christmas morning.
I hope whatever traditions you and your family and friends have, they are something to keep passing down to the people you love and sharing the things that make you happy, grateful and inspired. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and happy New Year! Stay tuned for my Japanese New Year annual Oshogatsu post of osechi ryori.
Cheers,
Unrivaledkitch
Thanksgiving 2015
I have 6 years of Thanksgiving blogs on Unrivaledkitch, which to me, shows my commitment to being there for my family and I am truly grateful that I have been able to take on this tradition for the ones I love and to share these …
Amaya’s Tigertastic 2s
Life seems to be steaming right along. August was a blur of celebration, grief, love, tears and just being. Life is so precious that even in the day-to-day happenings we can get carried away with the difficulties or choose to see the joy that is …
Maleeya’s Minnierella 4th Birthday
I can’t believe that Maleeya is already 4-years-old. It’s almost a month later and I’ve been slacking on my food blogging, but this was a very special birthday party catering and since I’ve blogged about each of her birthdays, I can’t stop at 3. So here is the 4th edition.
This year Maleeya had a Minnierella (Minnie Mouse as Cinderella) themed princess birthday party for her friends at our house. My mom made Maleeya’s beautiful pink dress for her Minnierella costume and my sister decorated the house. Everyone enjoyed playing games, catching up, delicious food and togetherness and I don’t think we’ve ever had so many people in our house at one time, which was really fun. We had a special feast of Maleeya’s favorite foods for her party. I asked Maleeya what she wanted to serve at her birthday party and her list was as follows: latkes, fruit, veggies, salad, chicken, strawberries and cake. So with those directions in mind, as well as some special Vegan and Gluten Free requests, I came up with this menu and we had a blast.
Menu
Fruit Tower and Melon and Grape Platter
Fresh Vegetable Tray
Sweet Sesame Chicken Skewers
Turkey Meatballs
7-Layer Bean Dip
Pico de Gallo
Grilled Sweet Soy Chicken Drumsticks
Italian Pasta Salad
Chinese Chicken Salad
Caesar Salad with Homemade Croutons
Bread Basket
Latkes
Grilled Vegetables and Tofu
Thank you to everyone who helped celebrate this very special little lady, or as she liked to be known that day, Minnierella. Happy fourth year of fun, love and excitement, Mighty Maleeya!
Cheers,
Unrivaledkitch
Easter 2015
Late Late Late Better Late than Never. I love Easter! Easter is one of my favorite holidays, especially since we have little ones to have fun with now. This year, I took the day off and cooked for the whole family. We had a delicious …
New Year’s Day Oshogatsu Osechi Ryori 2015
Happy New Year! Already 12 days in and I’m still feeling the freshness of the new year and all that it has in store for us. 2014 was a great year, lots of amazing opportunities and growth that I look forward to carrying over into …
Making Kaki (Dried Persimmons) with Bachan
Persimmons. I love them. I know fall is here when the persimmons are out in farmers’ markets and grocery stores. When I was little, my Bachan’s neighbors had persimmon trees, so we would have a ton of Persimmons, mostly of the Fuyu variety–the crunchy ones. But sometimes we’d even have the Hachiya persimmons,which are best eaten when really soft. The Fuyu Persimmons are one of my favorite fruits, but when we had so many, it was hard to eat them all before they got bad, so my Bachan decided she was going to dry them and that’s what Kaki is. The Japanese word for Persimmon is Kaki. Everyone in our family loves this dried fruit and if you haven’t had it, it’s really something to try, if you can get a hold of any. I’ve yet to see dried Fuyu Persimmons in stores, so you’ll have to make them if you want to see what all this delicious hype is about.
The process is long and the yield is very small, but they truly are delicious. This year we bought some Fuyu Persimmons and brought them over to Bachan’s house so I could help her get them ready for the dehydrator. This year, Maleeya wanted to help us too, so we did it all together. The process can take my Bachan all day, but with a little help from me, we got about 20 done in an hour. For a 91 year-young lady, she’s pretty amazing with a mandoline.
Pick hard, bright-orange Fuyu Persimmons without any soft spots. Wash the Fuyu persimmons and peel the outer skin. Remove the stem and cut them in half. Using a mandoline, slice the persimmons to about ⅛ inch thick, so pretty thin. If you don’t have a mandoline, you can slice the persimmons by hand, but this can affect the drying process if you don’t slice them in uniform slices, so I suggest using a mandoline for this project. Plus, it’s faster, but you do have to be very careful because they are extremely sharp. Use the guard and take your time.
After the Fuyus are sliced, place them on the dehydrator trays spread out evenly, ensuring that none of them are overlapping or touching. Continue till all the trays are filled. Place them in the dehydrator for about 6 hours or until they are completely dry. Place them in a plastic zip bag and store in a cool dry place.
You won’t need to store them for long because they are so delicious, they won’t last. And there you have it, Dried Kaki.
I love these delicious treats and so do my nieces and family. They are truly a Fujitaki tradition and I’m glad we could help Bachan make them this year.
Happy New Year!
Cheers,
Unrivaledkitch
Thanksgiving Gratitude 2014
Better Late than never…. I love Thanksgiving! It is truly my favorite meal to make of the year, not because we have the same traditional things, but because it’s tradition to be together with my family. I am so glad we get to keep …