Wild boar consommé, onions, garlic, and a slew of seasonings!
Showing posts with label Home Cooking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Home Cooking. Show all posts
Homemade Chili... with Wild Boar!!
Wild boar consommé, onions, garlic, and a slew of seasonings!
Foie before the Ban!
Fishy Options at the 99 Ranch
Griddle Night!!!
P.S. Check out the marbling on that beef on the right! Courtesy of the Korean-owned Woori Market in Little Tokyo.
Home Cooked Crab
Chopped garlic
Chopped shallots
Chopped green onion
Oyster sauce
Tapioca flour
Coconut soda
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Vietnamese Eggrolls
Balut
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A Breakfast by Any Other Name Would Taste as Good
What to cook, what to cook? I always ask myself what I want to cook, and every time I brainstorm, I come up with all sorts of new options I (1) haven't tried before, or (2) tried before, loved, and want to repeat. So last Saturday, when I tried coming up with ideas, I thought of a few items I wanted to cook, and then realized a theme: Faux Breakfast!
The appetizer was the start of the inspiration. I love creating cheese plates with meats and cheeses and sauces and toppings, often creating brie and gruyere and sunflower seed and whole grain mustard combinations to wash down with great wines. But by far, my favorite flavor combination is smoked prosciutto with brie and whole grain mustard. After years of experimenting, it still remains my favorite, though some French and sheep cheese combinations with fruit jams have given it a run for its money. So Saturday, I decided to do something creative--put them in a roll form, with the prosciutto wrapping slices of brie and the whole grain mustard. I had to get the combinations of each one just right, but when I did, it took all the work out of the actual enjoyment of the flavors. This was my "bacon and cheese". (It looks like bacon, doesnt' it?)
For my entree, I wanted to cook Korean BBQ, but if I was having rice, I wanted the egg on top. (I'll always want an egg on top of my rice. My cholesterol levels are normal, thank you very much!) So here came the inspiration for "Asian steak and eggs". I found a couple choice pieces of tri-tip, and remembering them to be tender, I wanted to try a Korean BBQ marinade on them. I broiled them for 10-15 minutes, as instructed on the Trader Joes label, but they still came out a little overcooked and only mildly pink. I sliced it in advance so I wouldn't have to slice at the table, then I realized this was a critical mistake. Apparently tri tip dries out very quickly, and regardless of how tender the meat was when it was first sliced, when pieces with fat marbling would turn out to be dry and flavorless. I tried brushing on more of the marinade and meat juices, only to realize it would dry out a couple minutes later. Note to self: ALWAYS go for the rib meat or leave the slicing to the dinner table right before you eat it.
Dessert was simplest, with very little preparation. I had "toast and chocolate". For this, I sliced up a couple pieces of Sara Lee pound cake (forever a classic!) and a piece of chocolate chocolate mochi. Mochi, for those of you who are unfamiliar with it, is a flavored tapioca wrapped around a morsel of chocolate, so you can hold it with your fingers and bite into it. The chocolate chocolate is my favorite because not only do you get the two different textures, the tapioca and the ice cream, but you also get chocolate chips in the ice cream! Mmmm! It served as a sugary counterpart to the pound cake, which is typically sweet enough on its own. I don't have a picture of this, but you know how Sara Lee pound cake looks--like a loaf of bread and slices of toast!
The whole meal made me miss having people over for dinner and reminded me I need to invite more people over to entertain as guests. I was born to be a hostess in my home!
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The appetizer was the start of the inspiration. I love creating cheese plates with meats and cheeses and sauces and toppings, often creating brie and gruyere and sunflower seed and whole grain mustard combinations to wash down with great wines. But by far, my favorite flavor combination is smoked prosciutto with brie and whole grain mustard. After years of experimenting, it still remains my favorite, though some French and sheep cheese combinations with fruit jams have given it a run for its money. So Saturday, I decided to do something creative--put them in a roll form, with the prosciutto wrapping slices of brie and the whole grain mustard. I had to get the combinations of each one just right, but when I did, it took all the work out of the actual enjoyment of the flavors. This was my "bacon and cheese". (It looks like bacon, doesnt' it?) 
Dessert was simplest, with very little preparation. I had "toast and chocolate". For this, I sliced up a couple pieces of Sara Lee pound cake (forever a classic!) and a piece of chocolate chocolate mochi. Mochi, for those of you who are unfamiliar with it, is a flavored tapioca wrapped around a morsel of chocolate, so you can hold it with your fingers and bite into it. The chocolate chocolate is my favorite because not only do you get the two different textures, the tapioca and the ice cream, but you also get chocolate chips in the ice cream! Mmmm! It served as a sugary counterpart to the pound cake, which is typically sweet enough on its own. I don't have a picture of this, but you know how Sara Lee pound cake looks--like a loaf of bread and slices of toast!
The whole meal made me miss having people over for dinner and reminded me I need to invite more people over to entertain as guests. I was born to be a hostess in my home!
Tuna, Tuna, Tuna! Feels like HOME!
It was like a HOME. And maybe it wasn't really my home, it felt so welcoming and so loving and so delicious that it may as well have been.
Yesterday I was invited to join DD to friends' JT and JT's house. They had a cozy house in Chatsworth, CA, and while the drive on the 405 N during rush hour was agonizing, I would do it twice over again if I'd known what was in store.
DD and his brother and friends chartered a boat this weekend and caught some pretty amazing tuna. The jackpot fish (the largest fish that won the pool of money) was 47 lbs. and quite large. I haven't seen pictures yet, but I can imagine it's a handful! (EDIT: I was provided some pictures of the trip. Check out how many fish there are here! Pic courtesy of H.) So in honor of all of this fresh fish, they had a fish dinner with 10-20 people that turned out to be quite the smorgasbord!
On the menu:
- Albacore sashimi
- Yellowfin sashimi
- Tuna poke
- Seared albacore
- Grilled squid
- Seaweed salad (purchased)
- Deep-fried wings, spicy and non-spicy (purchased)
- Shrimp tempura (purchased)
- Roasted tuna collar
- Roasted calico bass
- Sauteed mushrooms
- Home-made sauces
- Sesame-lotus balls (purchased)
- Melon ice cream bars (purchased)
I told the chef he was doing a Dinner: Impossible meal. And it truly was quite a feat! The fish arrived at around 6:30 p.m., and by 8:00 p.m., everything was on the table, ready to go! And everything tasted amazing. There's nothing quite like fresh sashimi--the texture practically melts in your mouth, and the flavors aren't nearly as fishy as they get when they've been sitting around for awhile. Of course fresh fish is the best start to a good tuna poke, with crushed macadamia nuts and sliced green onions. (*bite* "Oh, it's tuna, so soft and so firm." *bite* "Oh my! It's a crunchy macadamia nut--so crunchy and yet full-bodied!") The rich mix of textures makes this dish totally worthwhile, and so easy to make at home with crushed macadamia nuts and pre-made mix for the onions and fixings.
On the hot-cooked side, you know when I neglect the sauteed mushrooms and the shrimp tempura, typically two of my most cherished and beloved items on any menu, that the dinner is delicious! The roasted collar and calico bass were so tender, and so well prepared, like the first time DD cooked it for me. The seasoning is simple enough, with sea salt and some soy sauce, but when you bite into a tender, moist, warm and rich piece of fish and then bite into a small taste explosion of sea salt, at first it seems shocking, but after awhile, you realize it's the perfect complement and it's simply HEAVEN. Toss in a fork full of rice, and you're all set to be full and dying to go back for seconds and thirds.
I put down two plates and I wish I had room for more, since there was still more food to be had. DD and I talked on the way home about how wonderful the calico bass would taste over a bowl of ramen, and I couldn't help but to thank God for blessing me with so many people who love FOOD. Bons vivants forever!
Yesterday I was invited to join DD to friends' JT and JT's house. They had a cozy house in Chatsworth, CA, and while the drive on the 405 N during rush hour was agonizing, I would do it twice over again if I'd known what was in store.
DD and his brother and friends chartered a boat this weekend and caught some pretty amazing tuna. The jackpot fish (the largest fish that won the pool of money) was 47 lbs. and quite large. I haven't seen pictures yet, but I can imagine it's a handful! (EDIT: I was provided some pictures of the trip. Check out how many fish there are here! Pic courtesy of H.) So in honor of all of this fresh fish, they had a fish dinner with 10-20 people that turned out to be quite the smorgasbord!On the menu:
- Albacore sashimi
- Yellowfin sashimi
- Tuna poke
- Seared albacore
- Grilled squid
- Seaweed salad (purchased)
- Deep-fried wings, spicy and non-spicy (purchased)
- Shrimp tempura (purchased)
- Roasted tuna collar
- Roasted calico bass
- Sauteed mushrooms
- Home-made sauces
- Sesame-lotus balls (purchased)
- Melon ice cream bars (purchased)
I told the chef he was doing a Dinner: Impossible meal. And it truly was quite a feat! The fish arrived at around 6:30 p.m., and by 8:00 p.m., everything was on the table, ready to go! And everything tasted amazing. There's nothing quite like fresh sashimi--the texture practically melts in your mouth, and the flavors aren't nearly as fishy as they get when they've been sitting around for awhile. Of course fresh fish is the best start to a good tuna poke, with crushed macadamia nuts and sliced green onions. (*bite* "Oh, it's tuna, so soft and so firm." *bite* "Oh my! It's a crunchy macadamia nut--so crunchy and yet full-bodied!") The rich mix of textures makes this dish totally worthwhile, and so easy to make at home with crushed macadamia nuts and pre-made mix for the onions and fixings.
On the hot-cooked side, you know when I neglect the sauteed mushrooms and the shrimp tempura, typically two of my most cherished and beloved items on any menu, that the dinner is delicious! The roasted collar and calico bass were so tender, and so well prepared, like the first time DD cooked it for me. The seasoning is simple enough, with sea salt and some soy sauce, but when you bite into a tender, moist, warm and rich piece of fish and then bite into a small taste explosion of sea salt, at first it seems shocking, but after awhile, you realize it's the perfect complement and it's simply HEAVEN. Toss in a fork full of rice, and you're all set to be full and dying to go back for seconds and thirds.
I put down two plates and I wish I had room for more, since there was still more food to be had. DD and I talked on the way home about how wonderful the calico bass would taste over a bowl of ramen, and I couldn't help but to thank God for blessing me with so many people who love FOOD. Bons vivants forever!
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