Gobble Gobble - Annual Thanksgiving Bash at J & J's....

Being away from family for the holidays is never easy...so over the past few years, I've been hosting a Thanksgiving dinner for friends who's families are far away. We've become family to each other here in LaLaLand so it was pretty sad to know that the tradition is coming to an end as this is our final Thanksgiving in L.A...J & I are making the big move soon and so I vowed to make this thanksgiving bigger, badder and better!
As tradition would have it, I always make my turkey "asian style". Yup, you heard me...instead of traditional stuffing, it's all about sticky rice for me! I was inspired by my friend D-Kuo who first introduced me to this phenomenon. Stuffing my bird with sticky rice (consisting of shittake schrooms, chinese sausage, dried baby shrimps) and slathering my bird with hoisin sauce and basting every hour on the hour has become an instituition in my home. So how do I top last year's turkey fest where I served up 2 turkeys (15lbs each)? Well, i went to my local Ralphs and fished out a 24-pounder and decided that I was going to make the biggest turkey I can find!

Asian-Style Turkey with Sticky Rice Stuffing

Ok, so that was the turkey and the stuffing...but no Thanksgiving is complete without ooey gooey mac and cheese....gourmet style, of course. I've been working hard over the past year to perfect this dish...it's so simple, yet...it's NOT! I was determined to replicate the mac and cheese I had at Violet...sooo good! So I decided, to load up on cheese (white cheddar, sharp yellow cheddar, gruyere, asiago, mozzarella, parmesean and pecorino romana). I paid extra attention to my roux and decided to add some leeks and nutmeg to the concoction....2 hours later, tada! 2 lbs of Mac n Cheese delight!

Ooey Gooey Mac n Cheese - there were 2 more pans of this stuff...yum!

Other sides included a homemade cranberry sauce made with freshly squeezed OJ, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar (this is so simple, takes so little time and is a bizillion times better than that canned crapberry sauce). Steph brought over a shrimp potato salad and a zucchini casserole, Rinny made some string beans and Thanny brought over a delicious raspberry chocolate mousse cake. All in all, it was one of the best Thanksgiving - we had leftovers for 4 days (and I still have a whole pan of mac n cheese that it not yet baked and frozen in my freezer).

Gobble Gobble and Happy Thanksgiving - let the holidays begin!

C5 (Crystal Five) - Toronto

J & I have been quite busy these past few weeks visiting my family in Canada - we spent a little bit of time in Toronto and the reminder in Montreal. While in Toronto, we met up with my cousin Angelina where she treated us to a new restaurant, C5. Located in the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal of the Royal Ontario Museum, C5 provides a beautiful panoramic view of downtown Toronto. The decor is simple, modern, clean and contemporary. Ceiling to floor windows, artsy sculptures and an open kitchen concept defines C5. The service was terrific where our waiter was both well-versed with food and wine. They have a regular menu as well as a tasting menu. We opted for a la carte dining since we wanted to try as many dishes as we can.

Charcuterie Plate: Smoke Salmon, Pate, Foie Gras Bonbon & Salami with Bread Chips

Excellent starter dish and easy to share - the pate and the foie gras bonbon were delish!

C5 Raw Tasting: Tuna, Hamachi & Hadai Sashimi, Summer Breeze Oyster & Beef Tartare

Fresh fish, beautiful presentation and a great conversation piece

Black Cod with Lobster Hollandaise Sauce over Lobster Lentil Salad

Beautifully seared black cod with a light yet creamy hollandaise. The lobster flavor comes through in this dish without over-powering the cod.

Piglet Trio

J enjoyed this dish, however the pork belly pales in comparison to the one we had at Craft L.A.

Overall, we enjoyed all the samplings from C5. Unfortunately the dessert was not too memorable (no pic and no recollection of what it was). The three of us were mostly impressed by our mains - the complementary bread and amuse bouche were also delicious. Dining in great company overlooking a beautiful city is hard to beat.

Crystal 5 @ the Rom.

100 Queens Park, Toronto (enter from Bloor street, across from Lobby)

416.586.7926

www.rom.on.ca

www.c5restaurant.ca (C5’s site is still under construction)