Steak au Poivre (How to cook filet mignon steak in a pan)

Filet Mignon au Poivre

A couple days ago, I posted a tutorial on how to butcher a whole beef tenderloin (PiSMO) into filet mignon steaks.  I usually do this about 3 times a year… mainly when we have company over for dinner, and typically for Christmas Eve dinner.  My most favorite method for preparing filet mignon is based on [...]

How to butcher (trim and cut) a whole beef tenderloin (a.k.a. “PiSMO”) into filet mignon steaks

How to butcher a whole beef tenderloin (PSMO) into filet mignon steaks

Several years ago, I learned how to butcher a whole beef tenderloin (a.k.a. “pismo”) from watching my favorite Food Network star, Alton Brown.  His show “Good Eats” was my FAVORITE!  (I recorded so many episodes that I ran out of space on the DVR).   Anyway, one night, I watched the episode of Good Eats [...]

Xigua Niu Nai (Taiwanese Watermelon Milk Juice) and Xigua Zhi (Watermelon Juice)

Watermelon Milk Juice (Xigua Niu Nai)

My favorite summer beverages are fresh Watermelon Milk (Xigua Niu Nai) and fresh Watermelon Juice (Xigua Zhi).  We don’t really live near any Boba tea shops… otherwise I could get Watermelon drink fix pretty easily… so I usually have to make my own during the summer when watermelon is in season. Last year when we [...]

Taiyaki (Japanese fish-shaped pancake with sweet red bean or custard filling)

Taiyaki:  Japanese Fish-Shaped Pancakes with Custard or Sweetened Red Bean Filling

When I was 16 years old, my family took a trip to Walt Disney World in Florida.  This was a first for us… most of our family vacations revolved around Lake Arrowhead in the San Bernardino Mountains (about a 2 hour drive from our house in L.A.) – pretty much the farthest we had ever [...]

Homemade Pineapple Jam (and how to water bath can your jam for longer-term storage)

Pineapple Jam made with fresh whole pineapples!

Summertime is when I tend to make a bunch of jam… fruit is fresh, in season, and typically on sale!  A few days ago, my friend brought me 4 pineapples from her grocery run up to the Asian market in Orange County… she had a craving for pineapple jam and was hoping I would be [...]