Freddy's Harajuku

Mafaldine with Poached Chicken, Pine Nuts, and Kale

This recipe is my homage to the classic pesto chicken pasta with sun dried tomatoes. But somewhat turned on its head. I went with chicken breast(which I prefer thighs to) because I wanted to test something. I have done yogurt-marinated chicken breast in the past for things like chicken tikka masala. The yogurt marinade makes…

Roast Endive with Mortadella Risotto

I was playing around with the concept of cured pork-stuffed roast cabbage, and that is kind of how this dish came about. I switched from cabbage to endive, which is more bitter and more dainty, and instead of doing prosciutto, I used mortadella, which is an Italian bologna. I love using mortadella because it is…

Cinnamon Roll Pie

I can’t even remember what initially inspired this idea. I vaguely recall watching something about cinnamon rolls on YouTube, writing down “cinnamon roll pie” on my to-bake list, not really giving it a second thought, then eventually re-exploring this idea 8 months later. When it came to conceptualizing this recipe, I knew I wanted to…

Delta Old Fashioned Donut

To conclude my three-part Legends Z-A Old Fashioned Donut series, and to celebrate Pokemon Day, we have the Delta Old Fashioned Donut(or doughnut, depending on how you choose to spell it, but I’m usually in the doughnut camp, not the donut camp). Able to summon the Sky High Pokemon Rayquaza, the Delta Old Fashioned Donut…

Omega Old Fashioned Donut

With Pokemon Day coming up, I wanted to celebrate with my second of three Pokemon Legends: Z-A-inspired Pokemon doughnuts! In the case of this recipe, we are going with the Omega Old Fashioned Donut, inspired by Groudon, the Continent Pokemon, from Pokemon Ruby and Pokemon Omega Ruby. Groudon is a giant red dinosaur-looking creature, said…

Alpha Old Fashioned Donut

With this week leading up to the always much-anticipated Pokemon Day, I figured I would celebrate the week(in hopes that Generation 10 is right around the corner), by making three Pokemon-themed doughnuts, inspired by the most recent game, Pokemon Legends: Z-A, specifically from the DLC, Mega Dimensions! Now, I’ve been obsessed with the Legends Z-A…

Vegan Cauliflower Risotto

Now this is a recipe that started a long, long time ago during the pandemic when I was making vegan “scallops” using braised cauliflower stems. I did this by trimming down the stems, braising them in a flavorful umami-packed stock so that they actually tasted like something, and then searing them to look like scallops….

Light as Air Funfetti Cake

This cake is somewhat my revisitation of the classic Milkbar Birthday Cake, but making it as light as a cloud. I still look back at my time at Milkbar fondly, just because it was a great vibe. Everyone was outgoing, friendly, and quirky, it always felt like we were a bunch of misfits and goofballs,…

Caramel Macchiato Bear Mousse Cake

Caramel macchiatos will always remind me of my old sister, Kim. When we worked together in D.C., she would always get them at Starbucks, and after I tried one myself, I understood the obsession. Sweet caramel cuts through the bitter coffee, while adding a light bitterness on its own, and the layer of milk or…

Beef Heart Stroganoff

I heart beef heart. I wanted to make a dish that is somewhat romantic(pasta with a soft, creamy sauce), and figured, why not put some actual heart. on it? Yes, I might have a problem. Beef heart has a slightly chewier, yet crunchier texture compared your usual steak, and I just love that. People are…

Tonka-Strawberry-Goat Milk Sundae

Whenever I think of Valentine’s, the first thing that comes to mind are strawberries. What I adore about strawberries as an ingredient is that they add a bright red color, pleasant sweetness, and some tartness to contrast rich, creamy flavors and textures. However, and these have been rising in popularity especially over the past few…

New York Strip with Potato Mochi

Meat and potatoes is a classic that I’ve done spins on before on this blog, and I figured, New Year, new take on meat and potatoes? In this case, I wanted to do another steak, but for the potato portion, I wanted to combine experienced from my recent trips to Germany and Japan, paying homage…

Venison with Squash Gnocchi and Blackberry-Sake Jus

Now I already know what you are thinking: that meat is RAW. It’s mooing. So yes, it is very rare, pretty much blue. But when it comes to a lot of game meats, such as venison or elk, cooking any of them past rare either brings out too much gamey flavor, or they turn really…

Brie-Honey-Ginger-Pear Entremet

Whenever I think of the winter, I think of this honey-ginger poached pear tea that my mom would make for us. I have done some desserts inspired by this in the past, but this time around, I wanted to try using those ginger-honey poached pears as a garnish for another dessert. I figured with ginger…

Fennel-Almond-Blood Orange Panna Cotta

My friend Stephanie and I were having a pizza and pasta night(because she bought a pizza oven and I bought my pasta extruder), so we figured we would have a fun time just making pizza and pasta together! To finish up the dinner, I wanted to make an Italian dessert, just to tie in with…

Nutella Zebra Banana Bread

These banana breads were the end-result of me roasting several of them in the oven for hummingbird cake, only to realize that I roasted three times the needed amount. I didn’t want to store these, nor did I want to throw them away, so in the spirit of 2020 baking memories that I did not…

Spicy Eggplant Pasta

I love eggplant. And I HATE how much the Internet has ruined what an eggplant represents. For me, I try not to associate it with…body parts. Body parts are body parts, vegetables are vegetables. Just clearing that up now, because I feel like anything who reads “spicy eggplant” will have thoughts. Or even just “eggplant”….

Matcha-Raspberry Cream Cake

Full disclaimer – this cake was a cake order for a 1 year old’s birthday party. The original cake order was actually for a 12-inch cake, which is why the raspberries look way smaller in proportion to the cake, and why I couldn’t really photograph the cake off the box(try moving a 12-inch cake made…

Buttered Radish Ribbon Pasta

For Christmas, I purchased a pasta extruder for myself, because certain pasta shapes(i.e. bucatini, penne, and mafaldine) could not be made simply by hand or with ye old pasta crank that I’ve owned since December 2013(crazy to think that was 12 years ago at this point). I first wanted to get a pasta extruder because…

Persimmon Tang Yuan

Whenever I think of persimmons, I remember my earlier childhood – our backyard had white guava, white peach, and fuyu persimmon trees, so depending on the time of year, we had fresh fruit to eat! Persimmon in particular are an interesting fruit, because depending on their ripeness, their flavor and texture can completely change. With…