We had both families over to celebrate Mother's Day. It was a challenge to create a menu for the three mom's, mine, Lon's, and Kasi (Lon's sister and new mom). My mom is allergic to lemon and lime, Lon's mom cannot have any balsamic or red wine vinegar or red onion, and Kasi keeps kosher.
Watercress, Cara Cara Navel, and Edamame Salad
Veggie & Goat Cheese Sandwiches
Mini Spinach Laguiole Quiche
Maple Bacon
Ancho Cornmeal Crusted Tilapia
Cream Cheese Pound Cake
The Watercress, Cara Cara Navel, and Edamame Salad is one I will have to write a recipe for, probably soon. The salad is mainly just those three ingredients, which looked beautiful together, with a vinaigrette, made from freshly squeezed juice, Orange Muscat Vinegar (from Trader Joe's), Honey Dijon Mustard, ground ginger, and salt and pepper. My mom ate several helpings of it and was totally impressed.
The Veggie and Goat Cheese Sandwiches are one of my vegetarian favorites. They are great to mostly prepared the day before, fire roasting orange and yellow bell peppers, grilling zucchini with garlic powder, salt and pepper, and grilling Japanese eggplant marinated in white wine vinegar, olive oil, thyme, and oregano. Today, we just assembled them by spreading herbed goat cheese on Semolina bread and stacking the veggies.
I wrote the recipe for the Mini Spinach Laguiole Quiche and you'll want to use it. This platter was cleaned out super fast and they are really adorable.
Mini Spinach Laguiole Quiche- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 3 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 (10 oz) package of frozen spinach
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 cup whipping cream
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup shredded Laguiole or cheddar
2. Form 22-24 balls (about 1") and refrigerate for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees 20 minutes before dough is done chilling.
3. While the dough is chilling, cook spinach to package instructions, drain well and set aside.
4. When dough is ready, press into the bottom and sides of the mini muffin pan (sprayed with non-stick).
5. Whisk together eggs, cream, salt and pepper. Stir in cheese and spinach.
6. Spoon egg mixture into each cup. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.
I asked Lon to make the time consuming Maple Bacon because it is just awesome. Of course, my dad ate way more bacon then he should have.
Lon also made a great Ancho Cornmeal Crusted Tilapia with a Raspberry Aioli. Of course, he did not write down his recipe, and I doubt I'm going to be able to get him to.
We finished with a Cream Cheese Pound Cake, a recipe from Nick Malgieri's Perfect Cakes. It was very dense which apparently, everyone really liked.
It was a really lovely brunch and I would make any of these dishes again. If you haven't had enough yet, check out our menu from last year.Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mother's out there!
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StumbleLon really knows how to make a girl happy. I've been talking about how I want to be a judge on Iron Chef, so for my birthday, he called up a few restaurants to find out who would make a salmon tasting menu just for me. I would get to taste and judge each dish. The idea alone made me feel special enough, but Chef /Owner Jeremy Marshall at Aquagrill Aquagrill came up with quite an impressive menu, which was then executed almost flawlessly by his Chef de Cuisine John, only I'm pretty sure it took them more than the one hour Iron Chef would allot. They even printed a nice little menu for me.
The eight courses of salmon were all well thought out, highlighting different types of salmon and different preparations, ordered in a progression that made sense, and overall just impressed us very much.
The Aquagrill Salmon Tartare with Gauffrette Potato and Chive Oil was a good way to start, a bite sized display of light, familiar flavors.
Before the 2nd tasting plate, we were given some house breads, a good cornbread with some kick, a fresh ciabatta, and a very moist onion focaccia.
Next, the Scottish Smoked Salmon with Warm Buckwheat Blinis, Dill Pesto and Salmon Caviar in a Creme Fraiche Sauce. One of my two favorite dishes, every single component was perfect. The blini was so soft; the dill pesto refreshing; and the smoked salmon was amazingly tender. When you top that off with salty salmon eggs and creme fraiche sauce, the combination is magical and really highlights the salmon. I'm really sorry that the picture doesn't do justice to how beautifully this dish was plated.
What salmon tasting would be complete without Crispy Smoked Salmon Skin? Here, they were crispy on one side, yet soft on the other where a bit of salmon meat was left on, a nice touch to a standard baby green salad with wild mushrooms and roasted garlic cloves. Lon even ate the mushrooms as an extra birthday present.
Columbia River King Salmon Sashimi was a delicious dish but gets a few point deductions according to Iron Chef rules. The soy sauce was a bit over-powering for the sashimi, so I couldn't taste this special salmon as much as I would have liked to. The spicy Japanese eggplant (underneath, but you can't see) was phenomenal, kind of outshining the salmon. The texture was meaty and tender, not oily, and an amazing combination of a bit sweet, a hint of sour, and just a tad spicy. Lon and I wanted a whole plate of just that eggplant.
Warm Peppered Arctic Char (technically not a salmon but in the same family so we'll let that slide) was perfect with the cool cucumber salad, and seasoned just so spot on. I wish you could see more clearly how perfectly it was coated and seared. Just beautiful!
The Hot Smoked Atlantic Salmon Souffle was our least favorite dish. It wasn't bad, just extremely heavy (read: egg-y and butter-y) and the salmon on the bottom was a bit harder then the rest of the dishes. The Smoked Salmon Creme Fraiche Sauce was unique and better than the souffle, also helped it by cutting the fat a bit. We were so impressed with the presentation and even more so the innovation that we were still glad to have sampled this dish.
The Falafel Crusted Atlantic Salmon with Hummus, Cucumbers, Tomatoes in a Lemon Coriander Vinaigrette was pure genius! While this dish is a decomposition of a falafel sandwich, it centered on the salmon; yet we loved it for all the reasons we love falafel sandwich: crunchy falafel, thick smooth hummus, cool tomatoes (which were peeled) and cucumbers, with a tangy dressing that I could lap up like a dog! You're in luck because we found out that this is a regular dish on their menu. Please go and have it!!
Our final dish was Lon's favorite, Roasted Wild White Alaskan King Salmon with an Asparagus Risotto in a Mushroom Truffle Emulsion. This salmon was certainly unique, the flesh being a lot tighter than other types of salmon, kind of like swordfish, yet still flaked and parted the way salmon usually does. The risotto was wonderfully creamy and perfect for holding all the different parts together. Each bite must include white salmon, risotto, asparagus, and the rich mushroom emulsion to get the full glory, a perfect winter-y dish and a comforting end to the rainy day dinner.
We were already stuffed after the white salmon, but of course we couldn't stop at eight courses... two courses for dessert rounded out the meal to a perfect ten! The Tropical Fruit and Sorbet was refreshing, nothing unique, but I really liked the fruit concasse.
The Warm Chocolate Cake served as my birthday cake. It wasn't unique either, served with whipped cream, raspberry and chocolate sauces, but it was plated nicely. It was on the light side for chocolate cake, which was good, because it was less sweet, but it was also less chocolatey.
Overall, we had an amazing evening, with wonderful service and great food. The ingredients used were top notch, and the pacing was comfortable, we hadn't noticed that 3 1/2 hours had passed. I don't remember exactly how the judging on Iron Chef goes but out of a possible 10 for each, I give Flavor: 9 , Presentation: 9, Originality: 8, Use of Ingredient: 8 and trust me, those are very high scores coming from me.
Thank You to the team at Aquagrill for an incredibly memorable birthday dinner!
Randazzo's Clam Bar Randazzo's Clam Bar doesn't look like much, no table clothes, no host, and water comes in a disposable plastic cup, but they've got extremely fresh seafood, and that's enough for me. Little Neck Clams on the half shell were super fresh, pink, and meaty.
The Oysters were the best, served on the half shell, I've ever slurped down. The liquor was so clean, like a quick cleanse for your tongue, right before the slippery oyster slides across.
The fat and juicy Steamers were cooked perfectly, releasing it's mild juices for us to drink. Following my mother's lead, I added two tiny drops of tabasco to each steamer which was just the right kick with a hint of acidity.
The Linguine with White Clam Sauce was the most unadulterated version I've ever had. The chopped clams and linguine, paired only with garlic and parsley, sat in it's own juices, a preparation made possible by using only the freshest ingredients.
I have to admit, I was completely surprised, judging a book by it's cover, I expected oily, trucker style food. It was nothing like that at all, showing so much restraint, and just letting the fresh seafood shine for itself. The meal came out to $53, a bit expensive for lunch, but I think the prices are the same for dinner, and it's completely worth it.
I'm still as in love with Sushi Yasuda as the day I first tasted their sushi. I'm still getting new pieces on each visit and it's exhilarating to know such a place exists. On our 8th visit, we had tamago, the omelet, so this time, we tried the Custard, which Chef Tomura described as having shrimp and potato. The texture is still smooth like Tamago, so you will not find pieces of shrimp and potato but you will taste it, in the very tender custard.
If you like Fatty Tuna, you must try the Cheek of the Fatty Tuna, it's even fattier! You can see the marbling and it just melts away in your mouth.
On my 3rd visit, I had the Uni from California. This time, I tried the Uni from Alaska. Chef Tomura told me that it is the same species but I guess the environment makes a big difference. The Alaskan Uni is not at all briny, still creamy, but very gamey, in a fishy way. I prefer the California Uni because it was sweeter and I like some brininess.
Lon wanted to have the soft shell crab again and it was a lot smaller (like half the size) than when we had it on our third visit, but it is coming up on the end of the season. That's why you have to listen to the chefs and let them recommend what to eat.
During the Bike Tour on Sunday, we took a little detour for lunch, and headed to Carmine's Pizzeria Carmine's Pizzeria, a regular looking pizza joint, a bit cleaner, possibly newer, than most. They've got something for everyone, thin crust, thick crust, Sicilian, stuffed, chicken, pepperoni, and spinach rolls in large and small, pastas, and salads, desserts, I'm probably missing some stuff. On Scott's recommendation, I got the Grandma, a Sicilian slice with tomatoes and cheese. The sauce and cheese was fresh and divine. I only wished the dough had a bit more flavor. Angie gave me a piece of her Sicilian with Sausage and that too was delicious on top. The crumbled sausage among great sauce and cheese was heavenly, again wishing the dough was a bit better. It wasn't horrible though. I've been trying so much pizza lately that I'm just being picky.
I also had a small Spinach Roll which was stuffed with filling and generally pretty good, but not memorable. Scott and Sara both got pepperoni rolls and were moaning with pleasure.
So Carmine's isn't perfect, but it's still a damn good place for their prices. You wouldn't need more than $5 per person here. We topped off with a $1.75 nice cappuccino as well. I'd come back if I was in the area but I probably wouldn't travel for it.
*note - pics are from Angie's camera
Waldy's Wood Fired Pizza & Penne Waldy's Wood Fired Pizza & Penne is what you get when you attempt to turn thin crust pizza into fast food. The prices are lower than the other thin-crust, sold-by-the-pie joints, in return for busing your own tables and a lower quality of food.
We tried the Classic Margherita which was uninteresting in flavor. The dough is crispy but has zero elasticity, which basically makes it a cracker with sauce and cheese.
The Braised Lamb, Roasted Lemon & Oregano Pizza was more interesting (because I've never had lamb on pizza before) but not appealing enough to come back for. Again, the dough is the real put-off, hard flat, cracker bread.
They also have Wood Roasted Penne's that they call Mac & Cheese. We chose Sausage & Broccoli Rabe which was served in a container that made it look like a frozen dinner. Although there is cheese on top, it doesn't really classify as a Mac & Cheese for us. It was crumbled sausage with pieces of broccoli rabe, in a very wet sauce. You can see the watery stuff pooling on the bottom. The penne was nice and al dente but as a whole, it only tasted a bit better than it looked which, as I mentioned, was like a frozen dinner (or airplane food according to Lon).
The worst part of the meal was the Garlic and Salt Roll for 75 cents. We wouldn't eat this if it was given for free. It was one of those mediocre dry rolls you get at a bad catering hall, with some garlic powder sprinkled on top.
The meal was cheap so I'm not going to complain too much but I have no interest in coming back.
I'm not Korean but boy do I love Korean food. I get serious cravings for Kalbi-Tang and Duk Mandoo Guk when I'm sick. Unfortunately, my favorite place, I called the Secret Korean Grandma shop, closed, so I figured I had better learn how to make this stuff. I read a few Kalbi-Tang recipes on-line and ended up making it like this.
Kalbi-Tang
- 2 pounds Beef Short Ribs with Bone
- 10 black peppercorns
- 4 liters of water
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 scallions
- 2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
- Salt and Pepper to taste
1. Soak ribs in cold water for an hour to get rid of excess blood. Change water if necessary.
2. Boil ribs in unsalted water for 3 minutes. Drain.
3. Place blanched ribs in 4 liters of cold water with black peppercorns, garlic cloves, and scallions. Bring to a boil. Skim off any foam that comes up and turn down to a simmer and continue cooking for 2 hours.
4. Take ribs out and toss with soy sauce, sesame oil, black pepper, and minced garlic. Refrigerate over night.
5. Strain stock, discarding peppercorns, garlic cloves, and scallions. Refrigerate over night.
6. Skim fat off the top of the stock and bring ribs and stock to a boil. Turn down to a gentle boil.
7. Take ribs out and place them in serving bowls. Beat the eggs and stir them into the stock.
8. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into each bowl and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
I'm pretty proud of my first attempt. It really came pretty damn close to what it should be. The meat was tender and actually more flavorful than the standard restaurant ones, but the soup is just missing something. Can someone ask their Korean grandmother what I'm missing? Please!