The Departed - Aaargh!

Can someone tell me why this mediocre movie won many awards and why lots of reviewers gave it a 5 star rating? Can someone please explain to me because I just wasted 2 and a half hours of my life watching Leonardo DiCaprio's lousy acting. This remake of the superb Hong Kong movie INFERNAL AFFAIRS is just terrible. Everything about The Departed is contrived, it is not as taut, stylish, smart nor exciting as the original, and what is up with the stupid ending? The writer and the director certainly in my opinion did not get the original's whole concept and had to rewrite the ending to satisfy the American audience, but it does not make sense. And the overuse of the F-word is simply tiring, if not annoying, and did not work effectively in this movie as it did in the hilarious dark comedy MADE (which has the most number of times the F-word was uttered). I know majority of people will disagree with me but it is MY honest opinion: 1 star. No one deserves any awards in this stupid remake.
Now I have to watch any of the movies in our dvd library that has Tony Leung in it to erase this disappointing movie from my memory. Mm, let's see, HERO or DAYS OF BEING WILD? Oh, I know IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE. Happy Valentine's Day!:D

S'mores Bars & Cheesesteak-wich

I'm homebound today, no I'm not sick, I just don't have my car and it's snowing. So there's nothing else for me to do but bake.:)

S'mores Bars

1 cup butter, softened
¾ cup each white and dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 ¼ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups milk chocolate chunks or chips
1 ½ cups mini marshmallows

• In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking soda and salt, set aside. With an electric mixer, beat butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla until fluffy, gradually stir in flour mixture. Stir in by hand marshmallows and chocolate chips. Press into a 13 x 9 inch pan. Bake in a pre-heated 375°F oven for 25 minutes. Cool before cutting into bars. Sooo gooey good with milky chai or cafe latte.

Cheesesteak-wich

3 to 3½ cups bread flour
1 package active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup hot water (140°F)
1 tablespoon soft butter
12 ounces thinly sliced roast beef evenly sprinkled with 2 tablespoons Knorr seasoning or soy sauce
1 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
4 ounces sliced Swiss cheese
1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water

• In a large bowl, combine 1½ cups flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Mix in hot water and butter and beat with electric mixer for 2 minutes at medium speed, beat another 2 minutes at high speed. Gradually add enough flour to make soft dough. Knead for 6 minutes, transfer to an oiled container, cover and let rise for 1 hour.
• While dough is rising, cook onion in olive oil till soft, add ½ teaspoon salt. Let cool.
• Punch dough down, roll into a 14 x 10-inch rectangle on a silpat or a piece of foil. Layer roast beef, onion and cheese over center-third of dough. With sharp knife, make cuts from filling to dough edges at 1 inch interval along sides of filling. Alternating sides, fold strips at an angle across filling. Place on baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until double in size, about 45 minutes. Brush with egg wash and bake in a pre-heated 400°F oven for 40 minutes.

Pressed Sushi

We once had a Japanese couple for lunch many years ago. The wife brought homemade oshi-zushi or pressed sushi. It was in an ordinary glass container but I can still remember how the sushi looked so perfect and beautiful, with the prawn halves all straight and not curled like mine, I wonder how she did that. Her pressed sushi was so yummy, I try to make it at home as often as possible. I love it with lots of wasabi, soy sauce and preserved ginger slices.

Pressed Sushi
rice
3 cups Japanese rice
3½ cups water
1 5-inch kelp (kombu seaweed), optional
1/3 cup vinegar
1½ teaspoons sea salt
2 tablespoons sugar

• Wash rice thoroughly, let drain for 1 hour in a sieve before cooking. Put the rice, water, and kelp in a non-stick pan or rice cooker. Remove the kelp once it starts boiling, simmer until rice is cooked, about 15 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes. Mix vinegar, salt and sugar and sprinkle evenly on the rice, fanning the rice to cool quickly (this gives the rice a glossy sheen).
• To prepare: You can use any topping for the pressed sushi like smoked salmon or ham. I always top mine with omelet, steamed asparagus and prawns. Press half of the rice on a 13 x 9 x 2 inch dish, spread wasabi, then top with toasted nori, press the rest of the rice on top of nori. Arrange the topping, cut into 2 inch pieces. Serve with wasabi and soy sauce.

Psst.. check out this movie.

Caramel Wheat Puffs

As a child I used to eat a lot of sweet caramel rice puff balls called ampaw/ampao. I also loved the Chinese kind called lohua which is longish, empty inside, very crispy and puffy. I found bags of unsweetened rice and wheat puffs at our grocery, made caramel and formed some into balls, the rest I left loose to eat as breakfast cereal. My daughter said to just buy honey Smacks, it's the same thing although much sweeter than home made.

Caramel Wheat Puffs
6 - 7 C unsweetened wheat, rice or corn puffs
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup dark or light corn syrup
¼ cup butter
¼ teaspoon salt

• Heat all ingredients except puffs in a large pot or dutch oven until sugar melts and mixture is bubbling, stirring constantly. Add the puffs and stir to coat evenly, cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Turn off heat and let cool slightly. With wet hands form into balls.