Sushigan

Thanks to my Sunfish sailing buddy from Michigan,

here's the latest sushi platter enjoyed by TG and family:

  

Unagi roll – BBQ river eel, cucumber, and avocado

Salmon on the beach (2 rolls) – avocado, crab meat, 

cream cheese with baked salmon, and sweet cream sauce

Philadelphia roll – smoked salmon and cream cheese on a California roll 

Tamago – rolled egg with rice

Thanks, M2F.  Now my stomach's growling.

Recipe Schmecipe

Giardiniera.  More or less equal parts water and white vinegar, then 

more or less equal parts salt and sugar, although less than the liquid 

amounts. You gotta taste it constantly.  A couple of bay leaves, some 

black peppercorns, some whole cloves.  Cut the cauliflower into equal

sized florets and slice some carrots and celery.  Put all the vegetables

in the pot of pickling liquid, making sure it's all covered.  If not, add

 water until it is.  Some recipes have you boiling the pickling liquid 

separately, and blanching the vegetables in another pot.  Let's wash

one less pot and still end up with a great product, shall we?  Bring

the pot to a boil, cover it, turn off the heat, and let it sit to steep.

And if you do it outside on the gas grill, the house won't smell like

a pickle factory.  According to my wife, not me.

When the pot is cooler to the touch, spoon out the vegetables into

an old jar, then pour the liquid in until full.  Twist on cap and...done.

It must be refrigerated; you can't set it on the shelf of the root cellar.

Don't worry.  This stuff won't last too long.  You'll be standing in front

of the open fridge door in your underwear, eating this stuff straight

out of the jar at 2 in the morning.  I guarantee.

Simple and Good

Another simple but good dinner.  Pot Roast with Hoisin, Red Wine,

Leeks, and Mushrooms.  Plopped on a bed of default Quinoa, and

Brussels Sprouts with Baby Carrots on the side.  Much Spanish wine

and Prosecco accompanied the dinner.  A multi-cultural affair.

Protege

I'm proud to see one of my fellow blogmeisters cooking his heart

out and posting a photo of the dish.  And the fact that he's a 

sailblogger makes it even more special.  Salmon with fresh dill,

quinoa (my favorite) with carrots, celery, and sliced almonds, and

sauteed zucchini and yellow squash, with butter and grated 

parmesan.  Hey, that looks like my kitchen table!

Eye Heart My Wife

And I cooked some of her absolute most favorite food.  We typically

don't go out for dinner on Valentine's Day.  It stems from my having

to work that night for the past 30+ years.  I swore if I ever was off,

we'd spend the night at home, and I'd spend half the money and make

something twice as good.  Seared sea scallops with asparagus,

leeks, and fingerling potatoes enveloped in cream, dill, and lemon.

I did some sesame-crusted seared tuna, sliced and served with 

wasabi and soy to start.  Oh, and a scoop of Guacamole on the 

side.  The tuna could've been a little more rare, but it was super 

fresh and tender so no big deal. There's tuna leftover for my 

wife's lunch tomorrow, as well as scallops and the vegetable 

melange. Co-workers will be craning over to inquire.

On The Lamb

A couple weeks ago I was in Manhattan to pick up a book I 

had ordered from St. Mark's Bookstore in the East Village.

  Knowing that a mere 2 blocks away was a little noodle shop

 I'd seen on several foodie shows, my visit had 2 objectives:  

pick up the Joe Beef cookbook, and have this spicy cumin lamb 

that has been occupying my thoughts ever since seeing weird

 Mo Rocca featuring it on the Cooking Channel. 

Xian Famous Foods is the place, where among other things, 

you can have a salad made of Lamb's face. They had me at 

salad of Lamb's face. I like it when the entire menu is in photos

 on the wall.  I'd love to know what animal part will make up an

order of L2.  Under the menu were all kinds of 'rules' signage,

about not placing orders until your entire party is present, 

not sitting down until your entire party has ordered, no eating

until your entire party has sat down (joke), etc.  There is 

seating for 12, with three small square deuces and a 

groaning board along the wall for 6 underneath the menu.   

At one point, I was the only non-Chinese person

in the place - usually a good sign.  So there was a stretch

where I didn't hear a word of English, and it almost sounded

like the woman behind the counter was reprimanding the other

customers.  When my food was ready, I got up, grabbed my

tray, and sat back down.  These other folks were up and down 

at her beckoning, going back and forth with different plates and

utensils, expressionless and not saying a word.  They must just know

 the right way to order.  I was happy not to have to get up again.

I went with the spicy cumin lamb burger that I'd heard so much 

about.  It was everything I imagined:  tender shredded lamb with a

cumin-chile type sauce, served on a soft but crunchy-on-the-outside

bun.  Bourdain loved it and so did I.  The spicy cumin lamb soup

with hand-ripped noodles was good, but could have contained more

meat.  The broth was amazing (I'm a broth fiend), and the spice level 

was right on, but the noodles were kind of doughy, like any fresh

pasta I have ever attempted to make.  It was well worth the walk,

however, and I'll go again with lamb treasures soup (yep), and spicy

tingly lamb face salad on my mind.

Real Food

One of my favorite foods....on pizza.  How could you go wrong with

Barnegat clams, peppers, onions, and Vermont cob-smoked bacon

on a pizza with fresh mozzarella?  Answer:  You cannot.

Hmmmmmm...great Super Bowl dinner idea.