Sushi fix

Nothing says love like dead fish...

The H. and I were given a recommendation by a Japanese friend of ours for a couple of places for sushi in Chicago this past Valentine's day weekend. Okay, so normally going out on holidays is the WORST. All those twice-a-year people come out of the woodwork. We chose to brave it on the Saturday night before thus redeeming ourselves of the culinary Valentine's Day massacre.

Sushi, which most people associate with raw fish, is actually a title referencing the presence of vinegared rice. I get cravings for Sushi and sashimi quite frequently. Odd to some friends that my worst cravings are when I'm hungover. For me there is something beautiful and restoring about having nosh that hasn't been fussed over too much, of ingredients that are actually better for the body than a lot Western ingredients.

Now, I really know NOTHING about Japanese food, but what I do know is that every time I leave a Japanese restaurant I feel healthier than before I came in.

We were told to tryout Mizu on North, having been a popular choice with our fabulous friend. She and her husband like this place for the extreme freshness of the product coupled with the reasonable prices. However, if you want a real treat, the daily specials are fantastic. The night we were there Toro graced this list, and while we couldn't afford to sample this luxury, knowing they had it available give me confidence in their menu. We had a couple of rolls as well as (my favorite!) the sashimi plate. The Chef selected several cuts of raw fish, supremely fresh. My favorite was actually the flounder, white and light. The server told me they can do the flounder as almost a carpacio plater as well (off menu), which we will be getting next time if they have the fish. One of the roles we got was topped with the best eel I've ever had. Holy moly, batman, that was amazing.

OKAY. Eel and shrimp in sushi is not usually raw in America. So if you're a wuss, chose those. You know who you are. Who am I kidding? You, as the wuss, probably wouldn't even order the eel. And I say, GOOD - more for me.

Mizu also has a wonderful yakitori menu. Yakitori, I found out 3 minutes ago, refers to grilled skewered chicken only. We had chicken (dark meat please) as well as beautiful Japanese peppers and some skewered mushrooms stuffed with chicken. You are served three sauces to dip the grilled items in, and be aware of the mustard. A condiment which I adore nearly floored me as I forgot the Asian spice associated with this stuff. SO GOOD.

Another of my favorite things about Japanese food is sake. Sake is so yummy. I can see why all the Japanese business men drink it. Plus, it's BEAUTIFUL. Girls like pretty things. Mizu brought ours to the table in a blown glass decanter that had a sculpted hole in the bowl where ice could sit and keep the juice nice and cold without watering it down.

SO while you may hear the word "Sushi" and think, "Um, no, that's ridiculous, I'm not eating raw fish. I'd rather die." Be a world citizen. You won't die. In fact you will enjoy yourself... just get over yourself and eat up.

Complete control

"I think it's done."

"How long is it supposed to cook?"

"I dunno, a couple of minutes. I've never done this before."

"I have to say, I'm very nervous with the whole not using a recipe thing."

"I know and I don't care."

Some friends and I have been getting together the last couple of years for a nice dinner at the start of the New Year. We try to vary the guests, but usually the same group shows up. I am able to be in the kitchen with a good friend, one of my closest friends really. The problem is that unless I'm baking (and we all know how that goes with me) I don't really stick to recipes. I don't like them. It's like someone else, along with the millions of other things in our lives, telling me exactly what to do. It's the same reason I hate flying. I am not in complete control. And if you cannot be in complete control in your kitchen where else can you be.

This got me thinking, though. Am I just really selfish and void of compromise, or is this a good thing... not to stick to recipes all the time, I mean. GRANTED I occasionally use them for cooking times and basic starts, but once I get going am I, under this certain umbrella, doing myself a disservice??? I mean, it means I know what I'm doing, right? Sometimes. And if I fail, I fail...or the dish just comes out wrong, and is that really so bad? Is it bad? I mean, Julia Child said never to apologize.

I think I made my friend particularly distressed that night. He is a by-the-book kind of guy. Once, I was told, he cooked scallops all day (in total he said round 25 scallops) just to get the perfect scallop. I admire this. And I love him dearly. Though now he doesn't want to eat scallops. Well, I guess if I had to eat 25 scallops in a day I'd never want to see one on my fork again.

Eat your Brussels sprouts. Fine, I'll eat them.

I can understand why most people don't enjoy the noble Brussel sprout. The miniature cabbage-like little brains freaked me out too until a couple of years ago. They're small, and people are wary of small vegetables, I find. Americans especially dislike anything remotely small. Tragically we were all mistaken, and before we learned the truth the Brussels sprout got a bad rap (thank the 1950's housewife for this). So if you think you hate them, think again and realize that you just have no idea how to cook, that you're now in the minority. The BS is back to take over your table and you won't be unhappy.

Like other rich leafy greens from this vegetable family, BS (no bull) contain cancer-fighting properties, so you'll save your life (theoretically) by consuming more of them. What's not to love about that?! Since they are growing in popularity in recent years, the BS is being seen quite consistently in stores. You can find them by the bulk, frozen, trimmed and pre-bagged to name a few. ... Actually that might be it. BUT it's a good variety. There are, in response, a number of ways to cook these tasty gems.

Our favorite is roasting...with bacon... Seriously it's so easy and so good, and not just because of the added pork element. When you buy the b. sprouts, get fresh ones either bagged or in bulk. Grab 8oz-1lb, trim the bottoms and any yucky spots, then half or quarter them depending on the size, the bigger ones you might want to quarter. What they hay, quarter them all! Toss them with salt pepper and a little olive oil, or other oil (the oil is just for crisp factor and no stick), as well as 2-4 pieces of bacon raw and chopped. You could also use pancetta...yum.

Put in an oven safe dish into an oven which you have heated to 375 degrees for 10 min, then give them a toss... not with your hands because they will be hot. Silly, use a spoon, we've been over this. Let 'em cook for another 10-15 min, and don't worry about the little leaves that fall off, those get crunchy and gorgeous and you will eat them all before your guests even see the serving bowl. If they need a little more time to get crispy let'em have it. You want the crisp factor. Try also subbing the bacon, and sprinkling with a little lemon zest, or Parmesan cheese, or garlic breadcrumbs. Or sauté till crispy with similar ingredients. IF you steam them, don't do it for longer than 5-6 minutes. You will be sorry.

Here's the real secret to cooking Brussels sprouts... don't boil or steam them to death. Just don't kill them, and they will thank you, and you will thank you, and everyone on the face of the culinary planet will thank you. I mean, who wants to eat mush? Except babies, and mainly because they don't have a whole lot of choices in the matter. Water means less flavor and less vitamin content, which means not only will you have a flavorless meal, but you'll likely suffer an early demise. That's right.

When I'm on the road, b.sprouts are a good quick vegetable that make me feel as if I'm not eating out of a hotel room kitchen. They are classy and tasty. And well worth getting over the crap that your dad said about them when you were a kid. I mean, really, how often do you agree with him anyway?

Sardines (POST Eating)

So we didn't die. I marinated the little headless-wonders in garlic and fresh herbs with a little lemon zest and olive oil. Grilled to bronzed perfection they were quite nice! The Husband was perturbed by the bones (as quite honestly so was I) and kept saying, "I might get punctured."

The bones, I was told, were supposed to be cooked out... they weren't. And one can only assume that I have more calcium than I did this time yesterday. But the fish were crispy skinned and yummy.

I paired them with an eggplant pesto pasta, which in retrospect was not that right flavor combo for the same plate. We made the eggplant pesto by roasting a whole eggplant with an onion some garlic cloves and cherry tomatoes. The pureeing it in the processor adding some olive oil, a little red wine vinegar. I made it a couple of hours ahead, then when the pasta was almost done I spooned the right amount of eggplant mixture into a sauté pan and added a little ricotta and some Romano cheese, a little pasta water and heated it through. Then I poured in the orecchiette (because I first had this dish in Bari), turned off the heat and tossed in a little chopped basil. It was great! but not exactly right. If anyone has a recipe like this I'd love to know it. We had it originally at La Cecchina restaurant in Bari and it's one of the great food memories.

So that's that. Next up: squid.... They are frozen in the freezer right now... and I have to pull out their eyes and stuff.

Sardines (Pre-cooking)

Okay, so I haven't cooked them yet but I need some therapy. I just beheaded and gutted my very first fish. All those fish previous to this have already been done for me, in the sense that I didn't have to do any of the actual work apart from cooking them... But then came Sardines.

There's been a lot of hoopla about sardines in recent years. Probably for a number of reasons not excluding that sardines are high in Omega3s, a renewable-fish-resource, they're yummy... Apparently the best in the US come from California. I got mine from a fish guy on Howard who I'm not sure I trust, and therefore not sure that I trust the fish, but they were frozen and looked alright for the most part.

Here might be my first mistake... Find a fish guy you trust, especially living in the midwest. I mean, most seafood that we eat today has been previously flash frozen on the boat from which it was caught. SO really ALL seafood you see at Whole-Paycheck is from a frozen status. That's right. FROZEN. The only place you can get real fresh seafood is on the coast...and sometimes not even then, so swallow your pride and just get the frozen stuff.

So we're going to assume I have confidence in my neighbor fish guy. These puppies actually look okay! I took them out of their bag and thawed them in the sink under cool water. I think I've mentioned before that I have no patience for letting things thaw slowly... probably yet another mistake. Whatever. So the fish are in the sink and they are looking at me. This is not fun. I have to behead them and remove their entrails. YUCK.

And so I took one and chopped off it's head.... and I screamed.

So basically no one told me how much gunk there is inside a fish. I mean I knew they had to have working bits inside... All the red stuff though. ugh. One site told me I had to use my fingers to get the entrails out. No. No no no. No way. I used a knife. If you ever want to eat fish again do not use your fingers. It's gross. I used a knife and then pulled out what I could, sliced them down the belly to scrape the rest and now...

They actually look quite pretty. I'm quite pleased. Oh yeah, so we're grilling them tonight. I'll send word how they are. If this is my last posting, you'll know I have died from something fish related. Go find the fish guy on Howard and chew him out please.

We got crabs.

On a job in rural Virginia with Lorin Maazel. Sometimes we need to escape the farm, and what better way to do this than to get us some crabs. Not necessarily the kind your health care professional thinks about but the tasty critters from the sea.

Being so close to Maryland the home of crab cakes, it's only natural to find the critters not only in cake form but in the natural steamed state. As in still within the shell and the guts there enclosed. These little guys, Blue Crabs by the common name, are plentiful around here as well as in the gulf of Mexico. And while they are fun to play with ala puppeteering post steam, they are equally exciting to eat.

The night we went to Blue Ridge Seafood outside Gainesville, VA several of us opted for the steamed crabs by the dozen. Saturated in Old Bay seasoning, clarified butter on the side. Then you get into the cleaning, or the "picking" as some define it. You pull off the male defining appendage with the assistance of a knife, then separate the top shell from the bottom meat and cartilage. Scoop out the guts and pick out the lungs which look like pointy sponges then you're left with two sides of body cartilage and legs, and the meat there in. Then get it out using any means you like. My favorite trick on the legs is rolling the cracker from small end to big like a steam roller to get out all the yummy crabby leg-ness. It will be messy, you will get butter all over your clothes, you will be dirty when you are finished. But you will be full and have eaten with such purpose and accomplishment, the satisfaction will be two-fold.

We also had a kickin' Lobster Bisque. In reality (or maybe my false reality) I could have eaten a gallon of that concoction. You definitely have to try it.

Rice is nice

Risotto is the Italian word for “little rice,” coming from a country prevalent in pasta, holds its own as some pretty substantial stuff. The dish comes primarily from the north of Italy, where rice patties can grow without the harsher sun of the southern regions, it is perfect Italian-alternate for people with wheat-gluten allergies and even follows ye olde cliché, “It’s not the size that counts, it’s how you use it.” Having just made a batch a couple of days ago, I feel compelled to share…

Basics. When making risotto you MUST use a short grain rice, such as Arborio (probably the most commonly used in the US). Uncle Ben is not welcome, so please don’t invite him. If he comes everyone will feel awkward, and you don’t want that do you? Long-grain Ben doesn’t have enough of the right starches to create that oh so creamy texture. The simplest risotto has broth and some kid of grated cheese like parm or romano. But here’s the way I like to do it…

FRIST: get a tall cool drink of any sort and be prepared to stand at the stove for the entire cooking process. It will make you happier to have a friend to talk with, or if you have no one (aka alone) consider good music or a podcast. You may NOT leave the stove once you have started. Don’t forget to use the restroom first too…

This recipe is for 1 cup of dry risotto, serves maybe 4 people. To start, finely chop (dare I say mince) a shallot. While you, or your beloved, are handling the knifery, gently heat one tablespoon each of butter and olive oil in a large-ish sauté pan. I think ours is about 12 inches, but I really have no idea. If you are British and don’t know what a tablespoon is, just melt what you think looks good, you cannot go wrong with too much butter. Toss in the dry rice and gently toast till it starts to have a little color. (People say that it should smell nutty, but what does that mean? Nuts? It’s rice, it smells like toasted rice.) About half way through the toasting, maybe 3 min in, add in the chopped shallot. You can also throw in some whole fresh herbs at this point, we use thyme.

Add one cup of white wine and stir. Now here’s the thing. From this point on you can’t stop stirring. You have begun to incorporate the liquid and magical things are happening, if you let the mixture sit…well I have to say I have no idea what happens because I don’t like to waste food that way. But feel free to experiment, and waste your money. After the cup of wine has reduced a little begin to add hot chicken broth or stock one half cup at a time and reduce. Have ready at least 4 cups, it varies how much you will need. Keep stirring, are you stirring? Once you get down to about one cup of liquid left, give a taste test, is the rice still crunchy? Is it bland? If you don’t know how to fix these problems you are a silly duck. Add more broth or salt if needed. Watch the salt content though, we’re gonna add some cheese at the end and cheese’s salty too! Once the rice is perfectly al-dente fish out the herbage, and such. Stir in maybe ¼ cup of Parm, or more. Like butter, cheese is to taste.

Variations, like mushroom risotto, are always fun. With mushrooms though, brown them in the pan first before toasting the rice. Remove them, then add them back in with the liquid. Other veggies, you can add in the last 5 min of cooking, such as peas, diced zucchini, tomatoes, asparagus…sky’s the limit. Or add grilled chicken shredded, or scallops… Try subbing the white for red wine and use beef stock… be daring! And the next time you order risotto while out at dinner, remember the slaving over the stove that had to happen for those little grains of rice.