La Madeleine - Country French Cafe

We went to Columbia for shopping last Sunday. Since we were in that area, we decided to eat at La Madeleine for lunch. La Madeleine is a country French cafe. It serves many different types of food, e.g. pasta, crepes, hot and cold sandwiches, salad, etc. It also has some French desserts too. This was my third time, I think, been to this restaurant. I remembered that last time was having dessert. The food here is very good because they are all freshly made. I really like it.



Besides the food, the inside of La Madeleine is very nice. There is a big fire place in the middle of the cafe. It was very cold that day and everyone was sitting around the fireplace to keep him/herself warm.



There were tables inside and outside too. However, we had never had a chance to sit outside. Every time we went there was either too cold or raining. It is just not so suitable for us to sit outside. Hopefully, we will have a chance to do so.



It is a little stand for the waiter to recognize our table, so that he could deliver our food to our table.



It offers different types of bread for customers, so that customers can have something while waiting for the freshly made food.



Chicken Cordon Bleu
Breaded chicken breast stuffed with ham and Swiss, with lettuce, tomatoes and honey Dijon on a buttery alpinette



French Dip
Roast beef on a sourdough roll with provolone and horseradish sauce, served au jus



Chicken Parisien
Marinated chicken breast, bacon, melted cheddar, mayonnaise, lettuce and tomato on a sourdough roll



address: 6211 Columbia Crossing, Columbia, MD 21045
website: http://www.lamadeleine.com/

Pork Rib with Black Bean Sauce

This is one of the must get item when I go "dim-sum" in HK -- Pork Rib with Black Bean Sauce (豉汁蒸排骨). This may not be as good as the "dim-sum" restaurant, but it is good enough for a home-made one. I'm happy about the first trial come out to be succeed.





Pork Rib with Black Bean Sauce
3-4 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 strips pork ribs
  

Marinade:

• 1 teaspoon sugar
• little bit pepper
  
• 2 teaspoons soya sauce
• 1 tablespoons corn starch
  

Seasoning:

• 3 tablespoons black bean sauce
  
  
• 3-4 clovers of (finely chopped) garlic
  
• 1/2 teaspoons sugar
  
• 1 teaspoon soya sauce
• 1 teaspoon water
  

Directions:

• Cut pork rib into cubes. Then marinade pork rib for at least 15 mins.
  
  
• Place pork rib on a plate and mix with seasoning.
  
  
• Steam pork for 20 mins, or until it is cooked.
  
  

The Blog Design

Everyone, I would like to bring your attention to the design of this blog in this post. 

I want to give a big thank you to my sister Karen, for putting together such a nice blog page.  She worked very hard to pick out the colors and pictures.  AND YES, all the pictures on the header are 100% original, made by us.  So let me give you a little brief description for each picture from left to right...

1.  Chicken rice with a side of lettuce, prepared by Karen
2.  Strawberry chocolate cake, one of Cameron's signature dessert items.  It was a BIG HIT for Easter dinner last year
3.  Buffalo Chicken Dip In A Bread Bowl, prepared by me.  It's my favorite dip.  And serving it in a bread bowl just makes it ten times better!  (hmm, I love bread!)
4.  Lemon Cheesecake with Brownie Crust.  Yet another item from Cameron's dessert collection.  (Although cheesecake has always been my specialty)  We made this for Thanksgiving last year, and IT WAS GOOD :)

We'll post above recipes in the near future. 

Garlic Shrimp

I got a garlic press from my co-worker Tyrhonda as a christmas gift. And I put it to good use right away! I made this dish a few times back when I was in college, and got a few good compliments.

Dish Name: Garlic Shrimp
Cooking Method: Steam

Ingredients:
Oyster sauce - 2-3 tbsp
Garlic - as many cloves as you want!
Shrimp - 1 lb
Sugar - 1-2 tsp

So here is what you do...
Finely chop the garlic. If you have a garlic press, (lucky me!), you can save some time.
Mix the garlic, oyster sauce, sugar, and a little bit of water.
Shrimp preparation - head off, shell stays on. Arrange shrimps on a plate.
Spread garlic mix on shrimps.

Steam for 30 minutes, or until shrimps change color. Ta-da!

So yummy, and so simple. If you don't have a steamer, you can find a way to make your own steamer. I steamed mine in a 12-inch skillet. I guess I should have taken a picture to show you...

Rice with Chicken in Creamy White Sauce

This makes me remember my school life in Hong Kong. When I studied in HK, we could eat out and KFC was one of the favorite choices when my classmates and I ate out. In HK, KFC offers not just chicken, mashed potato, and fries, but also rice that is made with chicken. The rice with chicken in creamy white sauce (家鄉雞皇飯) is one of the side that customers can pick when they order a meal. This is my favorite side besides the fries. After I moved over here, I always wanted to get the rice with chicken in creamy white sauce as a side when I went to KFC; however, they do not offer this here. I'm glad that I found the recipe for it and now I can make this at home. =]





Rice with Chicken in Creamy White Sauce
3-4 servings

Ingredients:

• 4 drumsticks
• 2 bell peppers
• 1 can cream of chicken
• 1/2 can corn

Marinade:

• 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
  
• 1 tablespoon soya sauce

Directions:

• Cut chicken into small cubes. Then marinade chicken with marinade for at least 30 mins.
  
  
  
• Dice pepper.
  
  
  
• Fry chicken. Put it in a plate after it is done.
  
  
  
• Cook a can cream of chicken with 3/4 can of milk.
  
  
• Add in pepper and corn when the cream of chicken is about to boil.
  
  
• When it is boiled, add in chicken and stir well.
  
  
  
• Lastly, serve with rice.