Beef with Oyster Mushrooms

By Ching-He Huang

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/beefinoystersauce_89263

Ching-He Huang is one of my favorite chefs. Her recipes always are bright and each is unique and much better than typical american chinese that we are used to eating out. This dish is fairly simple, consists of three main ingredients, each cooked seperately - beef, spinach and mushrooms. Only change I made - added 

Pho

http://steamykitchen.com/271-vietnamese-beef-noodle-soup-pho.html

I've been pretty addicted to pho lately. Broth is made with so many spices that make it taste rich even if you didn't use meat and bones. And a mix of fresh vegetables adds to the brightness. Above website has very good tips how to make the broth followed by the recipe. I also blanch the vegetables in salted water which makes them taste very pleasant in the warm broth by muting down the harshness of the raw vegetables. Mushrooms are my favorite, and blanching makes them more flavorful as they are semicooked. I would say the lime is a must. Citrus always brightens the flavors and you can keep eating large amounts of the broth.

Craberry Jello

Grandma's Recipe
1 box raspberry jello (8oz)
1 apple, chopped
1 orange, chopped
1 cup walnuts, chopped

Prepare jello liquid according directions. Mix in all ingredients. Let cool.

This is my favorite cranberry dish and I make it for every holiday. It works well as a palate cleanser which is very helpful when you always eat too much of those holiday dishes. It's very refreshing and I always have several servings.

Kūčiukai with Poppy Seed Milk

http://www.gaspadine.lt/receptas/naminiai-kuciukai-3849

http://www.bernardinai.lt/straipsnis/2007-12-20-kuciu-valgiai-aguonu-pienas/21188

The small poppy seed pastries are made from yest dough and are kind of savory in flavor. They are eaten with poppy seed milk which is sweet.

Smoked Fish Salad

Recipe:

Smoked fish

1 can of peas

Green onion

Cucumber

Mayonnaise

Dill

Black pepper

Herring with Dried Apples

Ingredients:
Dried apples
Onion
Salt and pepper
Herring

Boil the dried apples, chop into small cubes. Fry chopped onion, add the apples and salt and pepper. You may add tomato sauce for more flavor. Top the herring.

Pastries with Dried Mushroom Filling

http://pragarovirtuve.lt/pyrageliai-su-grybais/2790/

The dried mushroom pastries were my favorite growing up. Traditionally they are made with yeast dough, but this year I was afraid it would be too much work. This dough is with margarine and farmers cheese, and is very easy to work with.

Ingredients:
160g flour (379ml = 1.52 cup)
1 teaspoon salt
160g margarine
160g farmers cheese (I used creamcheese)
1 egg yolk

Filling:
Dried mushrooms
Onion
Egg
Salt and pepper

The creamcheese worked well as substitute. I also used shortening for margarine, but the dough lacked flavor. I would used butter next time. Creamcheese makes it already pretty easy to work with.

Will I make it again? - I love the dried mushroom pastries, but the yeast dough is much better and worth the work.