Mussels with Miso, Roasted Cauliflower, Fish Sauce Vinaigrette
I am using the excuse of Wordless Wednesday. I guess I don’t have much to say, or I am just too freaking tired to write. Maybe because I spent the better part of my two days off writing this, which is kind of an exhaustive look at my cooking for the month of December. Last night, in a rare occasion, I cooked a meal. As I brought it to the table, Erik and I looked at it, smelled its deliciousness and “oohed” and “ahhed” over the beauty of the two dishes, and decided we were not hungry. We had a huge lunch.
I mean, massive. Read the rest of this entry »
Chawan Mushi, Dungeness Crab, Scallion, Shiitake
Family meal is such an interesting topic in the restaurant world. Some restaurants do it. Some don’t. Some restaurants serve the meal before service to the entire staff, generally using leftovers from the night before and some restaurants don’t mind if you nourish yourself from the pantry, obviously, but you have to fend for yourself. But, at Anchovies & Olives, which in my heart will always be my restaurant family, we create family meal only once a week after service. And we go all out. Read the rest of this entry »
Creme Fraiche Potato Salad with Garlic Spears and Pancetta
As you already know: I hate despise mayonnaise. The texture. The flavor. The consistency. Therefore, my entire life has been spent avoiding delicious foods such as potato salad, California Rolls, Salmon with aioli, or tuna salad sandwiches (well, actually ANY sandwich that mayonnaise has touched).
It is a despairing situation, but mayonnaise has RUINED the first twenty-something years of my life. It has inundated foods that I should love, but can’t because they are coated with that nasty substance. Well, I think I have found a solution for all the mayonnaise haters out there. Read the rest of this entry »
Mark Bittman’s Southeast Asian Mussel Salad
A quick question for you. Are you one of those people who think that Cilantro smells and tastes like soap?
I guess there is a gene that makes Cilantro taste and smell this way and it only affects certain people. There are whole blogs dedicated to this! I am not kidding, people. I wonder if this gene is related to the one where you eat asparagus and your urine smells? Read the rest of this entry »
Sake Poached Sea Bass in Parchment
Brown paper packages tied up with strings, these are a few of my favorite things….
Aren’t these the cutest little packages? Can you believe you can actually eat them? This is why I love cooking with parchment paper. The easy clean up is just a bonus. It creates one of the most beautiful presentations when it is plated. Guests (or husbands) wonder what this little package contains as the rip open the contents. The steam rises, and juices flow out from the brown paper. It covers the plate, and beckons to be sopped up by some form of carbohydrate. Read the rest of this entry »
Asian Beef Kabobs and Cilantro Rice
Summertime is meant for Shish Kabobs. My mom used to make them all the time on her fancy metal skewers, but she would put mushrooms on them (and I don’t like mushrooms). Now, as an adult, I can put whatever I want on them! I found the marinade for this recipe on Epicurious.com. This is my recipe but feel free to use any type of protein (chicken, lamb, beef, or tofu) and you can also use different vegetables as well (zucchini, japanese eggplant, green bell pepper, yellow onion, or mushrooms).
Serves 2
Prep time: 30 minutes
Marinading: 1 hour or up to 1 day
Cook time: 25 minutes
For Kebabs:
4 (7-inch ) bamboo skewers (or fancy metal ones)
1/2 c. tamari or soy sauce
4 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 tbsp. toasted sesame oil
2 tsp. grated ginger root (grate on a microplane)
1 thai chile, seeded (if preferred) and finely minced
3 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. red wine vinegar
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. sesame seeds
2 tsp. black pepper
3/4 lb. top sirloin, cut into 1 inch chunks
10 scallions, thicker parts only cut into 2 inch slices (reserve thinner parts for rice)
1 large orange bell pepper, cut into 1 inch chunks
For Rice:
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 red bell pepper, finely minced
Kosher salt
1/2 c, jasmine rice
1 c. water
10 scallion tops (leftover from kebabs), finely minced
3 tbsp. finely minced cilantro
Directions:
Soak bamboo skewers for 1 hour in a Ziploc bag with water. In a small bowl, whisk together the tamari, garlic, oil, ginger, sugar, vinegar, chile, sesame seeds and pepper. Add the meat, scallions, and peppers to marinade. Empty entire contents into a Ziploc bag. Remove all the air and marinate for 1 hour or up to a day.
Preheat broiler oven or grill. Remove marinade from fridge and skewer a piece or meat, scallion, and pepper. Repeat until all the contents are on the skewers. Pour leftover marinade in a small sauce pan. Bring marinade to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and reduce to desired thickness.
Meanwhile, bring another pot with the vegetable oil over medium high heat. Saute the red peppers for 2 minutes, season with salt. Add rice and saute 1 minute. Add water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and cook covered for 20 minutes.
When the rice has 10 minutes left, put skewers on a baking sheet or on grill or grill pan and cook, turning, for 8 minutes (4 minutes per side).
Remove the skewers from the oven or grill. Take the rice off the stove and fluff with a fork. Add in chopped scallions and cilantro.
Scoop rice on the bottom of a plate and drizzle reduced marinade sauce over top. Give each person 2 kabobs and enjoy!
