For My Loving Cup: Lettuce Cups

I first met lettuce cups on the hubs and my very first dinner date after moving to San Fran. We had been in town about a week, it was our first Friday night in the city by the bay. We found an Asian fusion restaurant by the name of Betelnut and the hubs made a reservation. Everything sounded insanely delicious on the menu, including the dirty sake martini, which I enjoyed immensely. We ordered a bunch of different items: chile-crusted calamari, Szechuan green beans (the hubs' fave!), something with Kobe beef that I don't recall the name of but it was damn good, and of course... lettuce cups!

I've tried to re-create these lettuce cups many times and somehow I manage to lose every recipe I've found after the first time I use it. Some of them have been great, others... not so much. BUT- I found this delicious recipe on one of my new found food blog loves- Crepes of Wrath. I made a tweak because sometimes I'm kind of a dummy and forget major components at the grocery store and in this instance, I forgot the beef... oh silly me! But alas, a good little modern housewife must be able to improvise and thus, I did just that. I had some ground turkey and ground pork in the freezer so I combined the 2 and well, it wasn't half bad... and healthier to boot! I have to say though, that is one of the best things about this dish. We originally had it with chicken at Betelnut and the Crepes of Wrath recipe calls for beef. I love it with beef, but all proteins work well. So all in all, this recipe was a success and now that I've documented my source here, I'll never lose it again!

Asian Lettuce Cups

16 lettuce or cabbage leaves
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound ground turkey1 tbsp cooking oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 tsps sesame oil


Rinse lettuce leaves with water and pat dry. Set aside.


In a large skillet over high heat, brown pork and turkey in oil. Drain and set aside. Cook onion in same pan until starting to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, vinegar, green onions, sesame oil, and continue cooking just until the onions begin to wilt, about 2 minutes more. Serve mixture in a bowl with lettuce leaves on the side for diners to make their own lettuce wraps. 


Recipe adapted from Crepes of Wrath

Sunday Supper: Turkey Meatloaf with Mushroom and Herbs

It's getting cold here in central New Jersey and I'm craving warm comfort food. My mom introduced me to turkey meatloaf a year or two ago when she came out to San Francisco on one of her many visits. She made a delicious BBQ turkey meatloaf which one day, I shall share with you. From then on, I've tended to gravitate towards recipes using ground turkey rather than the classic ground beef, which is against the wishes of the hubs. He loves the classic version- straight off the french onion soup box. But then again, who doesn't!?

I found this recipe from epicurious.com and since we love mushrooms in this house I thought I'd give it a shot. I think it'd make a perfect Sunday supper on a cold day. What sounds better than a warm fire, some comfy clothes, slippers, and a steaming plate of comfort food after spending the day tree trimming and decorating for the holidays? I sure as heck can't think of anything!

Turkey Meatloaf with Mushrooms and Herbs

2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups day old crustless bread, cut into 1/3 inch cubes
1 cup chicken broth
8 ounces sliced mushrooms (crimini or white button are great)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup minced shallots
2 tbsp chopped fresh Italian parsley (or 1 tbsp dry)
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme (or 1/2 tbsp dry)
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1lb ground turkey (about 15% fat)
1lb ground turkey breast

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush a loaf pan with olive oil.

Toss bread with broth in a large bowl. Let stand about 10 minutes, until bread absorbs liquid and softens. Mix in mushrooms, eggs, shallots, parsley, thyme, salt, and pepper. Add turkey, mix just until blended. Transfer to loaf pan.

Bake about 1 hour 25 minutes, until thermometer inserted into center reads 170 degrees. Let rest 15 minutes before serving.

recipe adapted from epicurious