Married Life, Bubble Tea, and Easy Dinner

I am now officially a married woman!

On January 14, 2012 I married the love of my life. All of the stress and planning seemed worth it when I was holding his hands and pledging to love him always in front of my friends and family.

After our amazing wedding we went to NYC for our honeymoon. I could go on for hours about the sites and shopping, but this is a food blog after all.

Our first day in NYC we went to Carlo's bakery in Hoboken, NJ. I got myself a "birthday cake" which was actually tiramisu surrounded by lady fingers. Along with cannolis, a carrot cake cupcake, and a couple of other pastries. Over the next few days we had Italian, Brazilian, Japanese, and of course NY Pizza.

We were staying right on the edge of Korea Town and got breakfast at a little Korean shop selling American food (bagels, eggs, bacon) and Asian tea. One morning I got an onion bagel along with a taro bubble tea. Bubble tea is an Asian milk tea with tapioca balls. It comes hot, cold or frozen. Bubble tea is one of my favorite drinks and something I have never tried to make before. Below is a recipe I am going to try from food network. Here's hoping it goes well!

Bubble Tea

Directions
Cook 1 1/2 cups large black tapioca in boiling water, 6 minutes; cover and let sit off the heat, 30 minutes. Bring 1 cup each water and sugar to a boil; transfer to a bowl. Drain the tapioca and soak in the sugar syrup. To serve, put 1/4 cup tapioca in a glass. Shake 1 cup cold green tea, 3 tablespoons soaking syrup, 1/4 cup milk and 1 tablespoon sugar with ice; pour over the tapioca.

After returning home from a wonderful week in NYC and realizing I had very little food in the house a quick easy dinner was in store. First on the list was baked Mahi Mahi. Few recipes are as quick and easy to prepare as baked fish.

Citrus Mahi Mahi

Ingredients  

2 Mahi filet
1 lemon
1 orange
2 Tbls olive oil
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsps lemon pepper seasoning
lemon juice
salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Place each fillet on two separate pieces of tin foil. Pour 1 Tbl of oil on each of the fillets and season with 1 tsp lemon pepper, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, and salt to taste. Thinly slice 1/2 of the lemon and place on top of the fish. Squeeze the other half of the lemon onto the fish. Top the fish with one large slice of orange. Wrap the tin foil around each fillet to form a package and place in a baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes or until the fish is white a pulls apart easily with a fork.

I used fresh fish but frozen fish can be substituted and cooked for a longer amount of time.

I served the fish with pre-made broccoli salad and a packaged pasta side. This meal is simple, healthy, and delicious. Great for when you don't have much time to prep a meal.

Enjoy!

Candy...Just Candy

Watching Julie and Julia has reminded and inspired me to post on my blog. 

In my family there is a coveted present at Christmas time...my mother's "candy", which is not really candy...its bark. For as long as I can remember I helped my mother every Christmas whip up batch after batch of wonderful candy bark. It is a crunchy heaven of chocolate and caramel. I have of course adopted the tradition of making "candy" for my friends and family.

I have been asked numerous times how to make this "candy" and what better way to share it than here? As promised I have included many more pictures.(Taking pictures while cooking...much more challenging than expected!)

Ingredients

2 sticks of butter

1 cup of light brown sugar

1 ½ columns of saltine crackers

1 12oz package of semi sweet chocolate morsels

Tinfoil

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line large cookie sheet with tinfoil. After cookie sheet is lined with foil lay out 1 layer of saltine crackers in pan (some may have to but cut in half to fit entire pan). Place the butter and brown sugar into a microwave safe glass bowl. Microwave for three minutes and then stir with a whisk. Microwave for another 2-3 minutes or until you see bubbles rise in the pan. You should watch the bubbles rise for at least 1 minute without over flowing. Stir and check to see if the mixture is completely blended. You may need to continue to microwave for 1-3 more minutes or until the mixture is fully blended and slightly thick.

Then pour the caramel mixture over the saltine crackers and spread out with a spatula. After the mixture is spread out place it in the oven for 5 minutes or until the caramel has bubbled completely. Remove from oven and use a spatula or spoon to lay the saltines back flat so they are not over lapping one another. Then spread entire bag of morsels over the pan and place back in the oven for 1 minute. Remove from oven and spread chocolate evenly over the caramel. Place in freezer until completely frozen.  Remove from freezer and peel off the tin foil. Then break up sheet with a meat mallet or large spoon. Store the candy in bags in the freezer for a harder texture or in the refrigerator for a softer texture. 

 Mopsy approves of the Candy.

Enjoy!