A Polka Dot Stir Fry

Every birthday I was allowed to pick a place to celebrate my birthday for dinner.  When I was younger, I always picked Asian restaurants - Chinese, Japanese, Thai.  There was a point where I went to the same sushi place four or five years in a row.  I wanted that melt in your mouth sushi and noodle dishes.  In addition, you got to sit in booths which closed. 

A couple of nights ago, I craved a stir-fry.  Luckily for me, I live within an area where there are plenty of ethnic supermarkets, especially Asian markets.  Any special ingredient I want, I can find for cheap.  Best of all, there are a couple within five minutes from where I live.  Mr. Polka Dot stated, “The samples are better than Costco,” after we left.  They had everything you ever needed for an Asian meal.  Want tofu – they had about 20 different varieties.  Want seaweed salad, here are 8 servings frozen in a bag.  After roaming this market, we picked up enough ingredients for this amazing stir fry and other meals. 

As for the meal - Mr. Polka Dot I agreed that this is my best stir fry ever.  Onto the recipe,

A Polka Dot Stir Fry

A Polka Dot Original

2 packets of Udon Noodles

1 package of Firm Tofu

¾-1 pound of Shrimp

¾ cup carrots

2 tsp of ginger

5-6 cloves chopped garlic (you can reduce, if you don’t like garlic)

1 small bunch of broccoli

1 small can of water chestnuts

1 large can of baby corn

1 pepper, cut into slices

1 ½ cups of chicken stock

1 cup of your favorite soy sauce and/or teriyaki sauce (I combined a couple of sauces)

2-3 tbsp of cornstarch

1 tbsp of vegetable oil

Clean and peel shrimp.  Cut up tofu into cubes and pat dry.  Cut carrots and broccoli into small pieces.  Prepare udon noodles by cooking them like pasta for about 10 minutes or until al dente. Heat 1tbsp of vegetable oil in wok.  When oil is hot, place shrimp in wok.  Cook shrimp on each side until pink.  Be careful, don’t cook too long, otherwise the shrimp will be rubbery. Take out shrimp.  Place ginger and garlic into wok along with the vegetables.  Cook for about 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure that all of the vegetables are being cooked.   Add tofu and cook for another 3-4 minutes.  Combine chicken stock, soy sauce mixture, and cornstarch together.  Pour into wok.  When it boils and the sauce thickens, add cooked udon noodles.  Let cook for another minute and add shrimp.  Let sit for another minute or until shrimp is warm.  Serve immediately. 

Triple Chocolate Cake

This was supposed to be for a goodbye party for a friend that I attended.  However, I got a phone call from the organizer that the venue was not letting us bring in our own cake.  It then became mine to share with family.  Three types of chocolate in one cake – just like my wedding cake.  However, I didn’t want a heavy cake.  I figured using my favorite chocolate cake recipe was a good start.  For the filling, I was inspired by my favorite cake from my local bakery, chocolate fudge.   Reading online, I found that you can whip chocolate ganache to be fluffier.   I was sold.  Lastly, I felt that I needed a light chocolate buttercream.  Swiss-buttercream is always a crowd pleaser and its light.  It was the perfect topping.   Apparently, I did not make enough ganache to fill all of the layers of the cake.  Instead, I filled the middle layer with some chocolate swiss buttercream.  Next time, I would double the recipe or make two types – dark and white.  Verdict from the Polka Dot family – YUM!, including from my sister who never eats cake.

I couldn't wait to take a bite!

My favorite Chocolate Cake: 

Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Cake

2 cups sugar

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water

Directions:
Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.  Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.   Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

Whipped Chocolate Ganache 

Adapted from Savory Sweet Life  

12 ounces chocolate, chopped into small pieces (I used dark chocolate chips)

1 cup heavy cream

Directions:

Place chocolate pieces in a large bowl.  Heat heavy cream on medium high until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and immediately pour cream over chocolate and stir until completely mixed and glossy.  Stick it in the fridge to cool down.  Whip the ganache into a frosting.  Be careful when you whip as it if you whip too long, it will curdle and look like the start of butter.

Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

From Martha Stewart 

5 large egg whites

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

Pinch of salt

1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons, room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

4 ½ ounces of semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled

Directions

1.       Combine egg whites, sugar, and salt in the heatproof bowl of a standing mixer set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk constantly by hand until mixture is warm to the touch and sugar has dissolved (the mixture should feel completely smooth when rubbed between your fingertips).

2.       Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Starting on low and gradually increasing to medium-high speed, whisk until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. Continue mixing until the mixture is fluffy and glossy, and completely cool (test by touching the bottom of the bowl), about 10 minutes.

3.       With mixer on medium-low speed, add the butter a few tablespoons at a time, mixing well after each addition. Once all butter has been added, fold in vanilla and semisweet chocolate.  Switch to the paddle attachment, and continue beating on low speed until all air bubbles are eliminated, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl with a flexible spatula, and continue beating until the frosting is completely smooth. Keep buttercream at room temperature if using the same day.

Once each individual component is completed, put the cake together.  I made four layers out of the chocolate cake.  Be aware, they were thin and could break very easily.  Alternate filling the cake with chocolate ganache and chocolate buttercream. 

A couple of years ago, I found this beautifully decorated cake on Martha Stewart.  Ruffles all around the cake.  Such a simple decoration for a cake.  It was exactly what I was looking for.

I found a video on you tube to help me and tried my best.  Not the worst first attempt. 

 

Enjoy!

Back to Blogging: An Update on My Life

Hello Bloggers… You don’t need to adjust your eyes.  Yes, I’m back.  It has been almost a year.  What a year it has been.  The biggest change is that.  My favorite sous chef is now Mr. Polka Dot. That’s right – He finally proposed.  After a whirlwind engagement period of 6 months and a week, we finally got married on July 2.

From Jovan Photography

 See that cake,  that would be our cake. 

From Jovan Photography

The cake was full of chocolate.  The top layer in which we will eat next year was chocolate cake with chocolate fudge.  The layer that we cut into was checkerboard.  The bottom tiers were chocolate cake with chocolate butter cream. 

Now for our honeymoon, we did every foodie’s dream – ITALY.  We went to Venice, Florence, Tuscany, with our home base in Sinalunga, and Rome.  We had some amazing meals there with our favorite in Florence and the countryside.  Have you ever had drunken spaghetti before?  What about stuffed zucchini flowers?  I also had one of my lifetime dreams completed - Mr. and Mrs. Polka Dot had a private cooking lesson in Tuscany. 

Funny story – we never had the lesson scheduled before we left.  We couldn’t find one that we liked.  Our travel agent recommended this restaurant in Tuscany called La Chiusa.  Not only are the views of Montepulicano and Pienza, but the food is amazing.  We had amazing homemade pasta, stuffed zucchini flowers.  Let’s not forget the best black truffle pasta I have ever had in my life. Totally worth the 18 euros.  Long story short, we met the chef, Dania, and asked her to give us a private lesson.  The cooking lesson was amazing.  We learned to make vegetable risotto, three different types of handmade pasta (pici, tagliatelle, ravioli), her special tomato sauce, chicken with herbs, and caramel ice cream along with her helpful tips for entertaining.  Also, Massimo, the best waiter, helped us pair wine to the courses. 

Other places we enjoyed:  The food was also really good at our hotel Amorosa.  Mr. Polka Dot’s favorite meal was in Florence at Il Latini.  The whole meal was all meat that I do not typically eat such as steak. Mr Polka Dot was shocked I tried it.  I preferred the melon and potatoes though.   My favorite meal in Florence was the drunken spaghetti at Osteria Dei Benci.

Here are some pictures from our honeymoon, obviously, in food. 

Steak at Il Latini

Bread salad at Il Latini

Caramel Ice Cream from La Chiusa cooking class

  

Keep checking Polka Dot Chef for more updates. I’ve been working hard on recreating and creating various recipes that I cannot wait to share.  Have a great Labor Day Weekend!