Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Pizza Night



I don't think being perfectly round is the most important thing.
I made two, and there was not a slice left.  

Monday, August 15, 2011

Cosas Verdes



Are you thinking what we're thinking?




So I was wondering what kind of Mexican Squirrel was chewing
on my jalapenos lately.  I probably missed him the other day
because he is kinda green.  Holy guacamole!  Bonnie, what kind
of caterpillar is this again?





Don't worry, I brought him inside just to get a better look at him
before I batter-fried him.  Kidding.  Just like with the mouse I caught
 in my living room years ago, I went outside and threw him into the 
woods.  No way they'll ever find their way back here, right?  





The one ripe jalapeno he didn't get.  I don't know what's wrong 
with me and growing certain vegetables.  The herbs do fine, but the
freakin tomatoes take forever to grow, and half of them rot on the
vine before I pick them.  The jalapenos have not even been remotely
hot, just chewy green pointy bell peppers.  At least someone likes 'em.

And yes, blowfish again.  This time panko crusted.  I'll get tired
of them soon, right around the end of their season.

Friday, August 5, 2011

Blown away




I Stopped at Ahearn's on the way home today.  I am
usually drawn to the dry sea scallops immediately, but 
I also scanned the fish case for some nice fin-fish fillets.
At first I thought I saw frogs' legs, which are certainly
good but not typical of Ahearn's offerings.  I looked
more closely and was thrilled and inspired to see
blowfish!  Of course I asked if they were local, which
they were not (Maryland), but where do the best
crabs come from?  Along with a half pound of
scallops, I got a half pound of blowfish bodies.  The
spine, tail, and dorsal fin were still included, but 
otherwise there were two beautiful loins on each fish.





First I cooked the scallops with a scant amount of 
oil on high heat, removed them to a dish on the side...




added some more oil to shallow fry, lowered the heat 
to 2/3, dredged the blowfish in flour, and fried both sides 
until crisp and brown.   




I had some leftover sticky, Japanese sweet rice which
I mixed with scallions, sesame seeds, sesame oil and
a touch of bacon fat, and snow peas which I boiled
quickly and tossed with oyster sauce.  At the table, I 
drizzled sweet chile sauce over the fish and scallops,
and had a couple beers to wash it all down. The fish was 
mild, sweet and super easy to pry away from the backbone.
No pesky pin-bones to deal with, just two perfect bites per
fish. I kept the presentation simple in honor of a good friend 
of mine who scoffs at over-decorated plates.  What
really matters is flavor, texture, and proper doneness,
all of which were well-achieved. Promise.

P.S.- the tails were crunchy and delicious.  Eat some today.