Chinese Pot Stickers and Stir Fried Beef and Broccoli

American? Italian? German? Devilled Eggs

When I searched Wikipedia for the origin of devilled eggs, I became very confused.  They can be traced back to ancient Rome but since then, they have spread around the world, with varying recipes and tastes.  The part I love about this appetizer is that you can put almost anything into the yolk.  I was making these for a party and decided to put Sriracha into the mix to add some spiciness.

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/deviled_eggs/

German Schnitzel with Broccoli and Mushroom Pasta

 Whenever I make something, it usually never goes right the first time.  In this case, it was organization.  I recommend putting the plates in an order so that they can go straight into the frying pan once the pork is ready.  Look at picture two to see what I mean.  Or else, your meat can get overcooked or burnt very quickly if you don't watch it.  Schnitzel can get very dry very quickly so to counteract the dryness, I made some tahini sauce to put on the Schnitzel.  The pasta was nothing special, just some sauteed mushrooms on linguini.  The broccoli was steamed and dipped in mayonnaise.  If you want to make sure that your Schnitzel doesn't turn out dry, use plenty of oil.

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/pork_schnitzel/

Japanese Pan-Fried Salmon, Steamed Flavored Rice, Bok Choi and Miso Soup

Salmon is definitely my favorite fish.  It contains so much flavor and can be prepared in so many ways, my favorite of which being fried.  This meal does take a while to prepare and uses many ingredients so plan before you make it.  

http://www.zojirushi.com/recipes/-i-takikomi-gohan-i-mixed-rice-

http://www.food.com/recipe/miso-shiru-soup-12744

http://justbento.com/handbook/johbisai/how-make-salted-salmon-shiozake

For the Bok Choi, I just fried some bacon in a wok, put in the bok choi, stirred it around with some garlic and served it.

Ukranian Borscht Soup

        This recipe is great for a cold winter night.  You can add pretty much any leftovers you want with the main ingredients and it'll still taste amazing.  I had a lot of kale and pork left from a previous recipe and just dumped them into the pot and it ended up great.  It takes about an hour to prepare every ingredient but if you have some extra time on your hands, this is definitely worth your effort.

Japanese- Yakisoba/Stir-fried Noodles

This recipe is my comfort food.  My mom is Japanese and makes it all the time because it is extremely easy to make and it's delicious.  You can use pretty much any leftovers to make it and it only takes three steps:

1. Heat some oil in a frying pan and sautee whatever vegetables you want.  I used spring onions, shiitake mushrooms and grated carrots.  Set aside your veggies once they're done cooking

2.  In the same pan, heat a tablespoon of oil and a quarter cup of water.  Add the Yaki-soba noodles and loosen them over 2-3 minutes

3. Add your sauteed vegetables and sprinkle a sauce base packet over the noodles.

 I added some tofu and pork to add more texture and flavor to the mix.

 Put some pickled ginger and sprinkle some seaweed to add to the variety of flavors.

Italian- Spaghetti and Fried Lamb Shank

12/2/13

This recipe came straight out of the New York Times magazine entitled "Remembering Marcella."  If you're strapped for time, this recipe is for you, because it only takes about an hour to prepare.  I know it's another Italian dish but c'mon, who doesn't like Italian?  You can see the full article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/magazine/remembering-marcella.html 

 You might want to add some garlic for more flavor.  Make sure to taste test it every few minutes.

 You're going to need a lot of salt and pepper.  Be careful of oil splashes

 I scrambled the leftover eggs as to not waste them.