Happy New Year! Traditional Japanese Osechi Ryori January 2, 2008

I go back and forth about the idea of making New Year’s resolutions. A part of me (about 95% of me) thinks it’s pretty lame. Come on, what makes me believe that I’m going to finally overcome something that I could not do or stay committed for the last 364 days, simply because it’s the first of January? On the other hand, the optimistic part of me (which admittedly rarely peaks its head) likes the whole ritualistic aspect of starting the year fresh. So I compromised and decided to make a “To Do Checklist” for 2008 instead. Those are more realistic, action-oriented, hopefully obtainable goals, and none of the “I’m-going-to-lose-50 lbs.-by-April” crap.

1. Knit a cable knit bag.
2. Pack my own lunch as frequently as possible.
3. Visit 10 new restaurants.
4. Never go to sleep angry and tell loved ones how much I love them every day.
5. Start Etsy business.

Easy enough? We’ll just have to see (sorry, they weren’t really food related except for two)!

Well, here’s a New Year’s ritual that I can 100% appreciate – oshechi ryori. The first picture on top is from last year (New Year’s 2007), courtesy of my boyfriend’s family who prepared this beautiful boxed edible art for us. The rest are courtesy of my mother who slaved away in the kitchen the last two days to bring her family the Japanese New Year tradition this year.  Thank you, mom!  I love you! 

Nimono — one of my favorite dishes of all time!

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Burdock (gobo) Kinpira

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Takosu (octopus marinated in vinegar .. yum) and tazunoko (herring roe .. eeewww)
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Mashed yam and chest nuts

Happy New Year, everyone! May 2008 bring good health, happiness and friendship to you and your loved ones .. and of course, good food!

One-Plate Wonderland: Filet Mignon Christmas Dinner December 25, 2007

One thing I hear repeatedly from all my favorite chefs on Food Network is that entertaining doesn’t have to be hard work. This didn’t settle with me at first because I always associated the party’s success by the amount of effort you invested in preparing the supper, but I decided to take the advice from the experts and prepare a simple dinner for Christmas this year. This approach worked out perfectly because I had to work on Christmas Eve (boo) and I really didn’t have time to prepare a grandiose dinner. My boyfriend arriving early from work and helping me with the preparation made all the difference in the world. This was truly a collaboration : - )
I began the Christmas celebration with this little appetizer of sesame crackers, goat cheese brie, cucumber slices, smoked salmon and lemon wedges. I meant to get the regular goat cheese for tanginess but picked this one by accident (Trader Joe’s was just jammed packed all last week!) but it turned out as delicious as the original recipe. I make this appetizer at every opportunity I get because I just love the combination of soft cheese, refreshing cucumber and salty smoked salmon together in my mouth.  And they’re so colorful and fun to eat. 

The second appetizer was Portobello mushrooms stuffed with sautéed garlic, onion, pistachio, panko breadcrumbs, flavored with cayenne pepper, salt and pepper, and topped with Parmesan shavings. I like serving stuffed mushrooms for starter so the guests can start enjoying wine before dinner and they go so well together.

Next up was a very simple salad of baby arugula, sliced red onion and cannellini beans, with homemade vinaigrette dressing — my favorite!

Ever since my epicurean journey to the Northwest, I’ve been fascinated with the beauty of one-plate dinner where the plate becomes the chef’s canvas. I was dying to try something like that myself, so this was the perfect opportunity.  So for the main course, I decided to decorate the plate with festive Christmas colors of green, white and red.
For green, I sautéed and roasted zucchinis, which served as the base of the decoration. Next, to replicate snow, I made herb (thyme, rosemary and oregano) and garlic mashed potatoes, which sat in the center of the plate. I sautéed the spinach with balsamic vinegar for a little texture and additional green.  For red, I made a balsamic reduction to accompany the beef by cooking the vinegar with twigs of herbs for about 10 minutes until the liquid reduced to half.
The life of the party was definitely the filet mignon. My boyfriend was in charge of the meat (it’s a guy thing) and he made them simply divine. He seasoned each beef with salt and pepper, and rubbed minced garlic and chopped herbs (again, thyme, rosemary and oregano). He infused the olive oil with garlic wedges first and seared the meat for a few minutes on all sides, before putting them in the oven at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes. What came out was a perfectly juicy medium rare steak. Mmm. (oh, did I tell you that he’s close to being a professional chef?)

Christmas is such a special time where friends and family come together to enjoy their company. I hope you all have a merry Christmas and a prosperous 2008!

Holiday Lunch: Michael’s Restaurant December 15, 2007

A great thing about dining with a bunch of people – as in holiday lunch with colleagues – is that you get to check out a wide array of dishes the restaurant offers. The not-so-wonderful part is that the dish you order never looks as good as your friends’, and you end up regretting your choice the entire time. It’s a terrible feeling!
I’m usually content with what I order expect this day at Michael’s Restaurant in Santa Monica, where everything I selected seemed wrong and everyone else’s seemed right.
For a starter, I ordered a Dungeness and Blue Crab Salad because I was in the mood for wonderful pieces of crab on top of green salad. But what I got was a mixture of crab meat, diced apples and Japanese cucumbers in rich mayonnaise-based dressing. The dish was beautiful and flavorful but it unfortunately didn’t satisfy my need for greens (yes, I should have read the menu carefully). The image of the grilled shrimp salad that I passed over was flashing through my mind the entire time I was eating my dish. Boo.

Dungeness and Blue Crab Salad: Organic Market Apples, Japanese Cucumber, Petit Greens, Cider Gastrique

Other starters that made it to our tables were:

Seasonal Oysters, on the Half Shell, Banyuls Mignonette
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Sashimi of Yellowtail, Pickled Vegetables, Baby Cilantro, Black Bean Oil
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Cauliflower Soup, Lemon Brown Butter, Crispy

For lunch, I ordered the Alaskan Hook and Line King Salmon with asparagus and mushroom risotto. The dish was delightful – with perfectly cooked Arborio rice and tender piece of fish – but I didn’t feel that it was seasoned well. Everything was more on the bland side, and I had to add some salt and pepper to season the dish, which I usually don’t prefer to do. The hanger steak that others ordered looked so good, that I was wishing that I ordered it instead!

Alaskan Hook & Line King Salmon, Asparagus & Wild Mushroom Risotto, Black Truffle Jus
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Seared Hanger Steak, Red Bliss Potatoes, Wilted Spinach, Bordelaise Sauce
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Seared Tuna Salad, Romaine Hearts, Fingerling Potatoes, Hard-Cooked Egg, Blue Lake Beans
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Alaskan Halibut, Hen of the Woods Mushrooms, Soybeans, Sweet and Gold Potato Puree, Mushroom Vinaigrette

The dessert, however, was perhaps the best part of lunch. I ordered the Apple Pie Souffle Tart, which had the combination of flaky, chewy, tart and sweet, all in one. But again, the Chocolate Fondant Cake looked more delightful than anything else.

Apple Pie Soufflé Tart, Salted Caramel Sauce, Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
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Hot Chocolate Fondant Cake, Gaviota Strawberries, Green Tea Ice Cream
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Panettone French Toast, Maple Panna Cotta, Poached Seckle Pear, Cranberry Sorbet

Michael’s was, to me, one of those “perfect on paper” restaurants. The menu was sophisticated, food was good and the ambience was pleasant,  but it wasn’t … excellent. There was something missing from making it a divine experience, although I cannot pinpoint exactly what that would be. Maybe it I tried it again and order different dishes, I may be able to figure out that missing piece of the culinary puzzle.
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Michael’s Restaurant
1147 Third Street, Santa Monica, CA 90403
★★★☆☆

Dinner Impossible? Healthy Thanksgiving Dinner November 26, 2007

Changes are difficult to swallow, especially when it comes to something so grand like a holiday supper. But when my mother, an amazing chef, handed me the honor to cook the special dinner for the family this year, I was committed in making something fresh, homemade and healthy — unlike the usual artery-clotting delights that is Thanksgiving dinner.
I was determined to create everything from scratch this year, and none of the packaged stuff was to appear on the table. Most of the ingredients came from Whole Foods, and although they were a little more pricey than usual, the freshness made everything worth the extra splurge. Unfortunately, I could not afford the turkey from Whole Foods so I settled for Butterball’s 8.9-pound birdie, which turned out very juicy, tender and flavorful. I stuffed the bird with lemons and oranges, along with bundles of thyme and rosemary. Aside from giving turkey the light finish, putting citrus in the cavity seemed more humane than stuffing the bird with all the dressing up its behind …

I began the meal with leek and potato soup, a recipe courtesy of my favorite Gourmet Next Door, Amy Finley. I watched her prepare this simple but hearty soup on her new show the other day and got inspired to create a soup dish as a starter. I like Amy – the worthy winner of The Next Food Network Star (I even voted for her!) — and her cooking, which is very simple but elegant. Soup is not something that appears on our table regularly (unless it’s a miso soup) so I caught everyone by surprise when I brought out the warm, comfort delight. It was a bit tough to make this pureed soup without an immersion blender though. I had to use a regular blender and made a big mess (although it is nothing new when I’m in a kitchen)!

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The side dishes included:
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Brussels sprouts sautéed with minced shallots, garlic, and Pancetta. I used the thinly-sliced Pancetta and chicken broth to soften the Brussels sprouts to reduce the amount of oil that went into the pan. I made this especially for my father because ① he’s probably never had this strange looking vegetable before, and ② he is the biggest cabbage fan in the world.  I knew he would find the dish quite amuzing. 
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Sautéed spinach with red onion. This is such a simple but delicious dish. What makes it so delicious is the drizzle of balsamic vinegar that goes in right before serving. The tanginess of the vinegar really brings out the sweetness of the onion and spinach.
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Sweet mashed potato. I still don’t know the difference between yams and sweet potatoes but I think I used the latter … I steamed the potatoes instead of boiling them to help retain the flavor and nutrients and mashed it up with a tiny bit of half-and-half. Absolutely no sugar was added but it was sweet and absolutely heavenly. I think this was my favorite side dish of the night.
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Roasted zucchini and squash. I made my own version of Herb de Provence by mixing thyme, sage and rosemary to my course sea salt and sprinkled it generously on olive-oil-coated zucchini and squash and roasted in the oven for 30 minutes. I decorated the turkey platter with them.
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Stuffing. Okay, I cheated on this one. I bought the boxed stuffing and added chopped celery, carrots, onion and chicken broth to create this holiday staple. I mistakenly picked up the cornbread stuffing instead of the regular so I didn’t care too much for it. Bummer.
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Couple of the things I forgot to photograph were: ① Green bean casserole (Thanksgiving is not complete without the casserole!), ② Cranberry Sauce I made by cooking fresh berries in freshly-squeezed orange juice and a sprinkle of sugar. It was really tangy and tasted nothing like the canned one, and thought it was delicious, and ③ Spaghetti salad with romaine lettuce, which is my mother’s specialty and she made it for us.

Because I’m more a baker than a cook, I was most concerned about the outcome of the pumpkin pie. I made the Pate Brisee from scratch by mixing the flour and butter in a blender (yep, I don’t have a food processor either), blind baked it, and pour the pumpkin pie mixture. I thought the result was fabulous. The dough was flaky and the edges of the pie caramelized perfectly in the oven.
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It took me about four hours (except the turkey) to create everything for a small party but I had a blast! I can’t wait until Christmas dinner. And I would like to take this moment to send my sincere thanks to everybody and everything that makes my every day full of joy and happiness.
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